BENNETT C FRANK 4

What Happened

• Bennett C. Frank, EVP and Chief Scientific Officer of Ionis Pharmaceuticals (IONS), exercised stock options to acquire a total of 65,089 shares (48,626 at $60.89 and 16,463 at $32.60) and sold shares in open-market trades on Feb 2, 2026. The sales totaled 85,089 shares in multiple transactions at weighted-average prices near $82.60–$83.03, producing proceeds of approximately $7,056,216. The cash paid to exercise the options was about $3,497,531, leaving net proceeds of roughly $3,558,685.
• The filing also reports two derivative dispositions at $0 (same share counts: 16,463 and 48,626), which reflect conversion/termination entries related to the exercised derivatives as recorded on the Form 4.

Key Details

• Transaction date: February 2, 2026; Form 4 filed February 4, 2026 (appears timely).
• Exercise (Code M): 48,626 shares at $60.89 (cost ≈ $2.96M); 16,463 shares at $32.60 (cost ≈ $0.54M).
• Open-market sales (Code S): 20,000 shares at $82.60 (≈ $1.65M, weighted avg); 48,626 shares at $83.03 (≈ $4.04M, weighted avg); 16,463 shares at $83.03 (≈ $1.37M, weighted avg). Total sales ≈ $7.06M.
• Derivative dispositions at $0: two entries for 16,463 and 48,626 shares (reported as $0 proceeds) — these reflect conversion/exercise-related derivative reporting on the Form 4.
• Shares owned after the transactions: not specified in the provided data (see full filing for post-transaction holdings).
• Footnotes: sale prices reported as weighted averages across multiple trades with ranges $81.92–$82.775 and $82.775–$83.34; the filer offers to provide per-trade price details on request.

Context

• This sequence — exercising options and then selling shares the same day — functions like a cashless exercise/sale: the insider realized gains by converting options and selling shares rather than signaling a purchase-based vote of confidence. Such activity is common for executives managing tax/liquidity needs and is not itself a clear indicator of company outlook.
• For retail investors: purchases (buys) are often more informative about insider sentiment than routine option exercises followed by sales. Check the full Form 4 for current post-transaction holdings and any 10b5-1 trading plan disclosures if you want more context.