Geary Richard S., EVP and Chief Development Officer at Ionis Pharmaceuticals (IONS), has been a consistent seller of company stock over the past year, with Form 4 filings showing no open-market purchases during the period. Across 38 total transactions, his sales totaled approximately $14.9 million, while acquisitions—almost entirely option exercises and equity grants—amounted to just $37,072. The pattern is unambiguous: every discretionary transaction was a sale, with the most recent cluster occurring in November 2025.
The selling accelerated in the fall. On October 31, 2025, Geary executed four same-day transactions—two option exercises (worth roughly $1.97 million and $2.11 million) paired with two open-market sales (approximately $1.50 million and $2.60 million), plus an additional sale of about $2.60 million. November brought another wave: on November 3, he sold shares worth $67,924 and $58,167 after exercising options valued at $55,105 and $44,005. Two days later, sales of $60,083 and $60,008 were matched with exercises of $48,773 and $45,424. The largest single-day activity came on November 6, when he sold $1.38 million and $1.12 million in stock while exercising options worth $1.11 million and $836,824.
Earlier in the year, the selling was more sporadic but still one-directional. A September 30 sale of $3.78 million was paired with a $3.11 million option exercise, and smaller sales occurred on September 2 ($503,671), August 5 ($428,593), and January 31 ($45,561). The only non-sale transactions were automatic: tax-withholding events (coded "J"), a zero-value grant on January 30, and a small $4,572 adjustment in August. Geary’s Form 4 history shows a clear bias toward monetizing equity, with no indication of accumulation through open-market buys.
AI-assisted summary