Trade: IONIS Pharmaceuticals (IONS)

Today was a wild day for Ionis.  After FDA results for a competing drug failed to show signs that it was effective enough to prevent competition for FCS in the mix, IONS was up over 10% at varying points during the day.  I was contemplating selling some, given I was finally back in the green on the stock.  However, there was a PDUFA meeting coming on Thursday for the approval on Volanasorsen on the radar and I didn't want to try to sell out and hope to get back in to maximize gains (typically after a big jump, the stock sells off for a couple days).  Then after the bell, the stock was halted as the FDA issued a Complete Response Letter (CRL) notifiying their holding company Akcea that they have rejected their drug Walivra on serious concerns on safety with antisense oligonucleotide drugs.  This puts the upcoming PDUFA in some jeapordy and the future PDUFA for Inotersen in serious jeapordy (due to the fact it suffered a death related to platelet issues), significantly reducing the potential for revenues in the near term, and puts into question the entire company.  As a result, I sold my entire position at $47 to take as little of a hit as possible.  I fully acknowledge that I may have panicked and missed a better opportunity to get out - much less the possiblity that the company won't go down that much from here.  That said, the stock hasn't been performing well all year and now its future is currently more cloudy than ever.  Even if I'm wrong right now, there's probably a better and safer time to get into the stock again - even if it's at a higher price.  In the meantime, I also have the opportunity to find a better speculative stock that would better fit my portfolio.  As such, I'm taking my lumps, living to play another day, and will track things for a little while to see what takeaways I can learn from my decisions.

Notes:
Stock Ratings: 1 = buy at current stock prices, 2 = buy on a 5-10% dip in stock price, 3 = sell on a 5-10% increase in stock price, 4 = sell at current stock prices to raise cash.  Ratings are based upon 12-18 month outlook on stock direction and not necessarily related to moves I make due to financial positioning.

Nothing on this site should be taken as advice, research, or an invitation to buy or sell any securities.  All views expressed are solely of my own and I am not a professional money manager.  Please consult with your financial adviser before taking any action in your own portfolio.