Ionis Pharma's Bad Week Gets Worse

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Inc IONS shares are trading lower by $4.40 (8.7 percent) at $41.40 in Friday's session. The stock, which ended last week at $54.70, is now trading in the lower $40.00 handle.

The rout began Monday when a trial for Volanesorsen had mixed results. Although the study did meet its primary endpoint, five patients in the study had to discontinue due to injections site reactions.

That news instigated a $4.52 decline on Monday ($54.70 to $50.18), which was followed by a $3.67 decline on Tuesday. After a modest gain Wednesday and modest decline Thursday, a Goldman Sachs downgrade from Neutral to Sell has inflicted more misery on the investors long the issue.

After a much lower open, Ionis stock managed a brief rally to $43.00 before continuing its descent lower. So far, the ensuing decline has taken it to $40.76 and is attempting to rebound.

If the decline continues, there may be additional support at the pair of lows from January 30 ($40.47) and January 31 ($40.61).