Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) Shares Gap Up on Earnings Beat

Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $31.95, but opened at $34.50. Ionis Pharmaceuticals shares last traded at $33.07, with a volume of 122,816 shares.

The company reported ($0.66) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($1.09) by $0.43. Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 44.58% and a negative return on equity of 88.98%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.12 EPS.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on IONS shares. StockNews.com cut Ionis Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $70.00 target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $60.00 price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, December 20th. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $65.00 to $62.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, December 20th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $60.65.

Insider Activity at Ionis Pharmaceuticals

In other news, CEO Brett P. Monia sold 33,445 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.63, for a total transaction of $1,091,310.35. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 207,396 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,767,331.48. This represents a 13.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Michael R. Hayden acquired 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 23rd. The stock was bought at an average price of $36.22 per share, with a total value of $181,100.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 35,219 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,275,632.18. This represents a 16.55 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 110,609 shares of company stock worth $3,564,867 in the last 90 days. 2.71% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in IONS. Signaturefd LLC grew its position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 160.0% during the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 949 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 584 shares during the period. Huntington National Bank boosted its stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 193.5% during the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 951 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 627 shares during the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Lindbrook Capital LLC increased its stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 183.8% in the fourth 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. Finally, Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter worth $42,000. 93.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 2.7 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86, a current ratio of 8.91 and a quick ratio of 8.82. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $33.94 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $38.55. The company has a market capitalization of $5.18 billion, a P/E ratio of -13.43 and a beta of 0.34.

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.