Ionis director sells 8,000 shares after option exercise

Q: Were Spencer R. Berthelsen’s Ionis (IONS) share sales pre-planned?

Yes. The Form 4 states that the 8,000 shares were sold pursuant to a Rule 10b5-1 Trading Plan adopted on September 12, 2025. Such plans schedule trades in advance under predefined conditions.

IONIS PHARMACEUTICALS INC director Spencer R. Berthelsen exercised stock options and sold shares on the same day.

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Form Type

Rhea-AI Filing Summary

IONIS PHARMACEUTICALS INC director Spencer R. Berthelsen exercised stock options and sold shares on the same day. He exercised non-qualified stock options covering 8,000 shares of Common Stock at an exercise price of $24.42 per share and then sold 8,000 shares in an open-market transaction at $73.49 per share pursuant to a Rule 10b5-1 Trading Plan adopted on September 12, 2025. After these transactions, he directly owned 156,013 shares of Common Stock. The filing also notes 70 shares of Common Stock held by his daughter, for which he disclaims beneficial ownership.

Insider Trade Summary 10b5-1

Exercise and Sale: 8,000 shares ($393K approx. pre-tax spread)

Exercise and Sale 4 txns

Insider BERTHELSEN SPENCER R

Role Director

Sold 8,000 shs ($588K)

Approx. gross sale proceeds $588K

Approx. exercise cost $195K

Approx. pre-tax spread $393K

Type	Security	Shares	Price	Value
Exercise	Non-Qualified Stock Option (right to buy)	8,000	$0.00	$0.00
Exercise	Common Stock	8,000	$24.42	$195K
Sale	Common Stock	8,000	$73.49	$588K
holding	Common Stock	--	--	--

Holdings After Transaction: Non-Qualified Stock Option (right to buy) — 0 contracts (Direct); Common Stock — 156,013 shares (Direct); Common Stock — 70 shares (Indirect, by Daughter)

Footnotes (2)

F1. Shares sold pursuant to a Rule 10b5-1 Trading Plan adopted by the reporting person on September 12, 2025.
F2. The reporting person disclaims beneficial ownership of all securities held by his daughter, and this report should not be deemed an admission that the reporting person is the beneficial owner of such securities for purposes of Section 16 or for any other purpose.

Key Figures

Shares sold: 8,000 shares Sale price: $73.49 per share Option exercise size: 8,000 shares +3 more

6 metrics

Shares sold 8,000 shares Open-market sale of Common Stock on June 15, 2026 at $73.49

Sale price $73.49 per share Price for 8,000 Ionis common shares sold June 15, 2026

Option exercise size 8,000 shares Non-qualified stock option exercised into Common Stock

Option exercise price $24.42 per share Exercise price of Non-Qualified Stock Option

Shares owned after 156,013 shares Direct Ionis common stock holdings following transactions

Indirect daughter holdings 70 shares Shares held by daughter; beneficial ownership disclaimed

Key Terms

Rule 10b5-1 Trading Plan, Non-Qualified Stock Option (right to buy), Section 16, open-market sale

4 terms

Rule 10b5-1 Trading Plan regulatory

"Shares sold pursuant to a Rule 10b5-1 Trading Plan adopted by the reporting person on September 12, 2025."

A Rule 10b5-1 trading plan is a pre-arranged schedule that allows company insiders to buy or sell stock at specific times, even if they have inside information. It helps prevent accusations of unfair trading by making these transactions look planned and transparent, rather than sneaky or illegal.

Non-Qualified Stock Option (right to buy) financial

"security_title: "Non-Qualified Stock Option (right to buy)" with 8,000 underlying shares."

Section 16 regulatory

"beneficial owner of such securities for purposes of Section 16 or for any other purpose."

Section 16 is a U.S. securities law rule that governs the trading and disclosure obligations of company insiders — typically officers, directors and large shareholders — to promote transparency and deter unfair profit-taking. It requires insiders to publicly report their stock trades and allows companies or the issuer to reclaim quick, short-term profits from certain insider trades, like a scoreboard and a refund policy that help investors see and limit possible insider advantage.

open-market sale financial

"transaction_action: "open-market sale" for 8,000 Common Stock shares at $73.49."

An open-market sale is when a shareholder sells existing shares directly on a public exchange to any willing buyer, rather than through a private deal. Think of it like putting goods on a busy market stall where price is set by supply and demand; for investors it matters because such sales increase available supply, can put short-term downward pressure on the stock price, and signal changes in liquidity or investor confidence.

FAQ

AI-generated questions and answers. How Rhea-AI works. Not financial advice.

What insider transactions did Ionis (IONS) director Spencer R. Berthelsen report?

Spencer R. Berthelsen reported exercising options for 8,000 Ionis shares at $24.42 and selling 8,000 shares at $73.49. These actions occurred on June 15, 2026 and were disclosed in a Form 4 insider trading report.

At what prices did Spencer R. Berthelsen exercise and sell Ionis (IONS) shares?

He exercised non-qualified stock options at $24.42 per share and sold 8,000 Ionis shares at $73.49 per share. The higher sale price versus the exercise price reflects the spread captured in this exercise-and-sell transaction.

How many Ionis (IONS) shares does Spencer R. Berthelsen hold after this Form 4 filing?

Following the reported transactions, Spencer R. Berthelsen directly owns 156,013 Ionis common shares. The filing also lists 70 shares held by his daughter, but he disclaims beneficial ownership of those indirectly held shares.

What type of derivative security did Spencer R. Berthelsen exercise at Ionis (IONS)?

He exercised a Non-Qualified Stock Option covering 8,000 Ionis common shares with a $24.42 exercise price. After the exercise on June 15, 2026, the option position reported in the filing shows zero remaining derivative shares.

AI-generated analysis. How Rhea-AI works. Not financial advice.

Form 4 Insider Transactions: What Each Field Means →

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Accepted by SEC EDGAR 06/16/2026 - 05:26 PM EDT

SEC Form 4

FORM 4

UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549

STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN BENEFICIAL OWNERSHIP

Filed pursuant to Section 16(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
or Section 30(h) of the Investment Company Act of 1940

OMB APPROVAL

OMB Number:			3235-0287
Estimated average burden
hours per response:			0.5

Check this box if no longer subject to Section 16. Form 4 or Form 5 obligations may continue. See Instruction 1(b).

Check this box to indicate that a transaction was made pursuant to a contract, instruction or written plan for the purchase or sale of equity securities of the issuer that is intended to satisfy the affirmative defense conditions of Rule 10b5-1(c). See Instruction 10.

1. Name and Address of Reporting Person^*

BERTHELSEN SPENCER R

(Last)

(First)

(Middle)

2855 GAZELLE COURT

(Street)

CARLSBAD

CALIFORNIA

92010

(City)

(State)

(Zip)

UNITED STATES

(Country)

2. Issuer Name and Ticker or Trading Symbol
IONIS PHARMACEUTICALS INC [ IONS ]

5. Relationship of Reporting Person(s) to Issuer
(Check all applicable)

X	Director	10% Owner
	Officer (give title below)	Other (specify below)

2a. Foreign Trading Symbol

3. Date of Earliest Transaction (Month/Day/Year)
06/15/2026

6. Individual or Joint/Group Filing (Check Applicable Line)

X	Form filed by One Reporting Person
	Form filed by More than One Reporting Person

4. If Amendment, Date of Original Filed (Month/Day/Year)

Table I - Non-Derivative Securities Acquired, Disposed of, or Beneficially Owned
1. Title of Security (Instr. 3)	2. Transaction Date (Month/Day/Year)	2A. Deemed Execution Date, if any (Month/Day/Year)	3. Transaction Code (Instr. 8)		4. Securities Acquired (A) or Disposed Of (D) (Instr. 3, 4 and 5)			5. Amount of Securities Beneficially Owned Following Reported Transaction(s) (Instr. 3 and 4)	6. Ownership Form: Direct (D) or Indirect (I) (Instr. 4)	7. Nature of Indirect Beneficial Ownership (Instr. 4)
1. Title of Security (Instr. 3)	2. Transaction Date (Month/Day/Year)	2A. Deemed Execution Date, if any (Month/Day/Year)	Code	V	Amount	(A) or (D)	Price		6. Ownership Form: Direct (D) or Indirect (I) (Instr. 4)	7. Nature of Indirect Beneficial Ownership (Instr. 4)
Common Stock	06/15/2026		M		8,000	A	$24.42	164,013	D
Common Stock	06/15/2026		S		8,000⁽¹⁾	D	$73.49	156,013	D
Common Stock								70	I	by Daughter⁽²⁾

Table II - Derivative Securities Acquired, Disposed of, or Beneficially Owned (e.g., puts, calls, warrants, options, convertible securities)
1. Title of Derivative Security (Instr. 3)	2. Conversion or Exercise Price of Derivative Security	3. Transaction Date (Month/Day/Year)	3A. Deemed Execution Date, if any (Month/Day/Year)	4. Transaction Code (Instr. 8)		5. Number of Derivative Securities Acquired (A) or Disposed of (D) (Instr. 3, 4 and 5)		6. Date Exercisable and Expiration Date (Month/Day/Year)		7. Title and Amount of Securities Underlying Derivative Security (Instr. 3 and 4)		8. Price of Derivative Security (Instr. 5)	9. Number of derivative Securities Beneficially Owned Following Reported Transaction(s) (Instr. 4)	10. Ownership Form: Direct (D) or Indirect (I) (Instr. 4)	11. Nature of Indirect Beneficial Ownership (Instr. 4)
1. Title of Derivative Security (Instr. 3)	2. Conversion or Exercise Price of Derivative Security	3. Transaction Date (Month/Day/Year)	3A. Deemed Execution Date, if any (Month/Day/Year)	Code	V	(A)	(D)	Date Exercisable	Expiration Date	Title	Amount or Number of Shares	8. Price of Derivative Security (Instr. 5)		10. Ownership Form: Direct (D) or Indirect (I) (Instr. 4)	11. Nature of Indirect Beneficial Ownership (Instr. 4)
Non-Qualified Stock Option (right to buy)	$24.42	06/15/2026		M			8,000	07/01/2018	06/30/2026	Common Stock	8,000	$0.0	0	D

Explanation of Responses:

1. Shares sold pursuant to a Rule 10b5-1 Trading Plan adopted by the reporting person on September 12, 2025.

2. The reporting person disclaims beneficial ownership of all securities held by his daughter, and this report should not be deemed an admission that the reporting person is the beneficial owner of such securities for purposes of Section 16 or for any other purpose.

	By: Patrick R. O'Neil, attorney-in-fact For: Spencer R. Berthelsen	06/16/2026
	** Signature of Reporting Person	Date
Reminder: Report on a separate line for each class of securities beneficially owned directly or indirectly.
* If the form is filed by more than one reporting person, see Instruction 4 (b)(v).
** Intentional misstatements or omissions of facts constitute Federal Criminal Violations See 18 U.S.C. 1001 and 15 U.S.C. 78ff(a).
Note: File three copies of this Form, one of which must be manually signed. If space is insufficient, see Instruction 6 for procedure.
Persons who respond to the collection of information contained in this form are not required to respond unless the form displays a currently valid OMB Number.
* Form 4: SEC 1474 (03-26)

Source: View Original Filing on SEC EDGAR