Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) Reaches New 1-Year Low – Should You Sell?

Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) reached a new 52-week low during trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $29.61 and last traded at $30.09, with a volume of 96038 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $31.15.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on IONS. Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $39.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $47.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $70.00 price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $60.00 to $45.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, December 20th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $58.37.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 3.5 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.12, a quick ratio of 8.82 and a current ratio of 8.47. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $32.53 and its 200-day moving average price is $35.70. The company has a market cap of $4.78 billion, a PE ratio of -9.90 and a beta of 0.28.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported ($0.66) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($1.12) by $0.46. Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 64.25% and a negative return on equity of 100.05%. The business had revenue of $227.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $140.97 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.12 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 30.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -3.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Ionis Pharmaceuticals

In other Ionis Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Eric Swayze sold 7,154 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.84, for a total value of $234,937.36. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 45,670 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,499,802.80. This trade represents a 13.54 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Brett P. Monia sold 33,445 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.63, for a total transaction of $1,091,310.35. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 207,396 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,767,331.48. This trade represents a 13.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 111,956 shares of company stock worth $3,608,439 in the last ninety days. 2.71% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ionis Pharmaceuticals

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in IONS. Signaturefd LLC lifted its stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 160.0% in the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 949 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 584 shares during the period. Huntington National Bank lifted its position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 193.5% in the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 951 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 627 shares during the period. Lindbrook Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 183.8% during the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 1,036 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 671 shares in the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. increased its position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 40.9% during the third quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 1,081 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 314 shares during the period. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter worth about $51,000. 93.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc discovers and develops RNA-targeted therapeutics in the United States. The company offers SPINRAZA for spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) in pediatric and adult patients; TEGSEDI, an antisense injection for the treatment of polyneuropathy caused by hereditary transthyretin amyloidosis in adults; and WAYLIVRA, an antisense medicine for treatment for familial chylomicronemia syndrome (FCS) and familial partial lipodystrophy.