Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) Hits New 12-Month Low – Should You Sell?

Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) shares hit a new 52-week low on Monday . The company traded as low as $25.52 and last traded at $25.79, with a volume of 101201 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $27.09.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on IONS. HC Wainwright started coverage on Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $45.00 price objective on the stock. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $60.00 to $45.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $60.00 price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. StockNews.com upgraded Ionis Pharmaceuticals to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, December 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $57.70.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 2.0 %

The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $32.05 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $35.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.12, a current ratio of 8.47 and a quick ratio of 8.82. The company has a market capitalization of $4.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.79 and a beta of 0.29.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported ($0.66) earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $227.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $140.97 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.12 earnings per share. Ionis Pharmaceuticals’s quarterly revenue was down 30.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -3.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ionis Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Eric Swayze sold 7,154 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.84, for a total transaction of $234,937.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 45,670 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,499,802.80. The trade was a 13.54 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Brett P. Monia sold 33,445 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 207,396 shares in the company, valued at $6,767,331.48. The trade was a 13.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 111,956 shares of company stock worth $3,608,439 in the last three months. 2.71% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ionis Pharmaceuticals

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Xponance Inc. increased its position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 19,339 shares of the company’s stock valued at $676,000 after purchasing an additional 318 shares during the period. Amalgamated Bank boosted its stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 10,292 shares of the company’s stock valued at $360,000 after buying an additional 335 shares in the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. grew its holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 6.6% during the fourth quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 5,865 shares of the company’s stock worth $205,000 after acquiring an additional 363 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 21,826 shares of the company’s stock worth $763,000 after acquiring an additional 373 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina lifted its holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 68,803 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,405,000 after acquiring an additional 440 shares during the last quarter. 93.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Ionis Pharmaceuticals

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.