Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) Sees Significant Decline in Short Interest

Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) was the target of a large decrease in short interest during the month of November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 10,450,000 shares, a decrease of 5.4% from the November 15th total of 11,050,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,700,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 6.1 days. Currently, 7.2% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. 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. Guggenheim decreased their target price on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $70.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Piper Sandler cut their price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $65.00 to $62.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has issued 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 price target of $60.65.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Eric Swayze sold 1,194 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.92, for a total transaction of $45,276.48. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 33,713 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,278,396.96. This trade represents a 3.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Brett P. Monia sold 6,630 shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.05, for a total transaction of $252,271.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 167,393 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,369,303.65. The trade was a 3.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 7,877 shares of company stock valued at $299,578 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 2.71% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Great Point Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $15,728,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 8.7% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,443,020 shares of the company’s stock worth $57,807,000 after purchasing an additional 114,914 shares in the last quarter. DRW Securities LLC purchased a new position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter valued at $2,429,000. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. raised its stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 13.6% in the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 650,779 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,070,000 after buying an additional 77,909 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Privium Fund Management B.V. boosted its position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 8.9% during the 2nd quarter. Privium Fund Management B.V. now owns 247,267 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,162,000 after acquiring an additional 20,274 shares in the last quarter. 93.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of IONS stock opened at $37.68 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $37.52 and a two-hundred day moving average of $42.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.95 billion, a PE ratio of -15.44 and a beta of 0.35. 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 52 week low of $33.33 and a 52 week high of $54.44.

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.