Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) Short Interest Update

Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) saw a significant growth in short interest during the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 12,120,000 shares, a growth of 18.4% from the January 15th total of 10,240,000 shares. Currently, 7.9% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 1,540,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 7.9 days.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 2.3 %

NASDAQ:IONS traded up $0.69 on Friday, hitting $31.04. The stock had a trading volume of 1,445,661 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,668,259. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $34.22 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $38.96. The stock has a market cap of $4.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -12.72 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a quick ratio of 8.82, a current ratio of 8.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86. Ionis Pharmaceuticals has a 1-year low of $30.23 and a 1-year high of $52.34.

Analyst Ratings Changes

IONS has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $70.00 price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, December 20th. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $65.00 to $62.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $82.00 to $77.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Ionis Pharmaceuticals presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $60.65.

Insider Activity at Ionis Pharmaceuticals

In related news, CEO Brett P. Monia sold 38,843 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.65, for a total transaction of $1,229,380.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 180,683 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,718,616.95. This trade represents a 17.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Michael R. Hayden bought 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 23rd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $36.22 per share, with a total value of $181,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 35,219 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,275,632.18. This trade represents a 16.55 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold 110,609 shares of company stock valued at $3,564,867 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 2.71% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ionis Pharmaceuticals

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Capital World Investors lifted its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 46.5% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 11,465,413 shares of the company’s stock valued at $400,831,000 after buying an additional 3,637,041 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter worth approximately $59,948,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 9.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 16,472,539 shares of the company’s stock worth $575,880,000 after purchasing an additional 1,416,781 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 3,287.0% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 328,772 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,171,000 after purchasing an additional 319,065 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Aquatic Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $8,041,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.86% of the company’s stock.

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.