Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 10,740,000 shares, an increase of 8.8% from the October 15th total of 9,870,000 shares. Currently, 7.4% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 1,540,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 7.0 days.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Brett P. Monia sold 6,630 shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.05, for a total value of $252,271.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 167,393 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,369,303.65. The trade was a 3.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Eric Swayze sold 1,194 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.92, for a total transaction of $45,276.48. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 33,713 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,278,396.96. This represents a 3.42 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 8,197 shares of company stock valued at $315,310 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 2.71% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ionis Pharmaceuticals

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 23.7% in the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 7,582 shares of the company’s stock valued at $329,000 after purchasing an additional 1,453 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 11.4% in the 1st quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 10,216 shares of the company’s stock worth $443,000 after acquiring an additional 1,049 shares during the period. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System increased its holdings in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 2.7% in the 1st quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 155,145 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,726,000 after acquiring an additional 4,090 shares during the period. Blair William & Co. IL increased its holdings in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 67.4% in the 1st quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 27,838 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,207,000 after acquiring an additional 11,210 shares during the period. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the 1st quarter valued at about $255,000. 93.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 7.8 %

IONS stock traded down $2.89 on Friday, hitting $34.34. 1,801,968 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,109,779. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86, a current ratio of 8.91 and a quick ratio of 8.82. Ionis Pharmaceuticals has a twelve month low of $34.24 and a twelve month high of $54.44. The business’s fifty day moving average is $39.62 and its two-hundred day moving average is $42.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -14.07 and a beta of 0.39.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $45.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $54.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $82.00 to $77.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $70.00 price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $60.65.

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.