Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) Holdings Boosted by OCONNOR A Distinct Business Unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC

OCONNOR A Distinct Business Unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) by 63.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 60,580 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 23,623 shares during the period. OCONNOR A Distinct Business Unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC’s holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals were worth $2,118,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Xponance Inc. grew its stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 19,339 shares of the company’s stock worth $676,000 after buying an additional 318 shares during the last quarter. Amalgamated Bank boosted its stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 10,292 shares of the company’s stock worth $360,000 after purchasing an additional 335 shares during the period. Vontobel Holding Ltd. boosted its stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 6.6% in the 4th quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 5,865 shares of the company’s stock worth $205,000 after purchasing an additional 363 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lifted its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 21,826 shares of the company’s stock worth $763,000 after buying an additional 373 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina raised its holdings in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 68,803 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,405,000 after purchasing an additional 440 shares during the period. 93.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Needham & Company LLC decreased their target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $60.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Guggenheim decreased their price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $65.00 to $64.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Redburn Atlantic began coverage on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday, March 31st. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $39.00 price objective for the company. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $60.00 to $45.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $70.00 target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $56.67.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Michael R. Hayden acquired 15,000 shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 1st. The shares were bought at an average cost of $31.86 per share, with a total value of $477,900.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 50,219 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,599,977.34. This trade represents a 42.59% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Patrick R. O’neil sold 1,207 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.35, for a total transaction of $39,046.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 56,245 shares in the company, valued at $1,819,525.75. This represents a 2.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 2,027 shares of company stock worth $62,863. 2.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 3.9%

Shares of NASDAQ IONS opened at $33.53 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $30.59 and its 200-day moving average price is $33.35. The company has a market cap of $5.34 billion, a PE ratio of -11.03 and a beta of 0.15. Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 52-week low of $23.95 and a 52-week high of $52.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.12, a quick ratio of 8.82 and a current ratio of 8.47.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported ($0.93) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.07) by $0.14. The business had revenue of $132.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $144.31 million. Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 64.25% and a negative return on equity of 100.05%. The firm’s revenue was up 10.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($0.98) earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -3.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Profile

Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc discovers and develops RNA-targeted therapeutics in the United States. The company offers SPINRAZA for spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) in pediatric and adult patients; TEGSEDI, an antisense injection for the treatment of polyneuropathy caused by hereditary transthyretin amyloidosis in adults; and WAYLIVRA, an antisense medicine for treatment for familial chylomicronemia syndrome (FCS) and familial partial lipodystrophy.