Squarepoint Ops LLC Lowers Stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. $IONS

Posted by Brian Himes on Sep 11th, 2026

Squarepoint Ops LLC cut its stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS – Free Report) by 84.3% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 109,379 shares of the company’s stock after selling 585,897 shares during the period. Squarepoint Ops LLC’s holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals were worth $8,673,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. bought a new stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the 1st quarter worth about $30,000. Quarry LP bought a new position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter worth about $38,000. Allworth Financial LP bought a new position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter worth about $41,000. Finally, Silvant Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter worth approximately $43,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.86% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Ionis Pharmaceuticals

Here are the key news stories impacting Ionis Pharmaceuticals this week:

Positive Sentiment: HC Wainwright modestly improved its earnings outlook. The firm raised its EPS estimates for the fourth quarter of 2026, the first and second quarters of 2027, and full-year 2027. It maintained a Buy rating and a $100 price target, although it still expects Ionis to report losses through most of the forecast period. HC Wainwright estimates
Positive Sentiment: Bank of America Securities reiterated its Buy rating on Ionis, providing some support for the stock and signaling that the firm continues to see upside despite recent weakness. Bank of America rating
Neutral Sentiment: Ionis presented at the Wells Fargo 21st Annual Healthcare Conference. The transcript may provide additional detail on its pipeline and commercial outlook, but no specific new catalyst was identified in the available report. Wells Fargo conference transcript
Negative Sentiment: Analyst pessimism appears to be the main near-term pressure. Ionis shares reportedly gapped down following an analyst downgrade, while separate reports highlighted bearish forecasts from Canaccord Genuity and HC Wainwright. This likely outweighed the modestly improved earnings estimates and Buy ratings. Ionis shares gap down after downgrade
Neutral Sentiment: The reported short-interest data shows zero shares short both currently and in the prior period, but the figures appear incomplete or erroneous and therefore offer no reliable trading signal.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ionis Pharmaceuticals news, CEO Brett P. Monia sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.59, for a total transaction of $4,029,500.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 245,571 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,790,566.89. This trade represents a 16.92% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Eric Swayze sold 10,602 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.18, for a total value of $839,466.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 21,759 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,722,877.62. The trade was a 32.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 164,317 shares of company stock valued at $13,244,486 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.81% of the company’s stock.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of IONS opened at $55.65 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $59.36 and a 200-day moving average price of $69.76. Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $50.01 and a fifty-two week high of $86.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.25 billion, a PE ratio of -16.08 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.07, a quick ratio of 7.73 and a current ratio of 7.89.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

IONS has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $84.00 price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $100.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their target price on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $100.00 to $85.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Wolfe Research reiterated a “peer perform” rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $110.00 to $104.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Seventeen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $91.25.

View Our Latest Stock Analysis on IONS

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Profile

(Free Report)

Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc is a biotechnology company that discovers and develops medicines using antisense technology, which is designed to target RNA and influence the production of disease-related proteins. The company focuses on neurological, cardiovascular, metabolic and other serious diseases for which there remains a significant unmet medical need.

Ionis has developed several approved therapies, including SPINRAZA (nusinersen) for spinal muscular atrophy, QALSODY (tofersen) for a form of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, TEGSEDI (inotersen) for hereditary transthyretin-mediated amyloidosis and WAYLIVRA (volanesorsen) for familial chylomicronemia syndrome in certain markets.

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Institutional Ownership by Quarter for Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS)

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