Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) Shares Sold by Ensign Peak Advisors Inc

Ensign Peak Advisors Inc lessened its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) by 23.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 53,320 shares of the company’s stock after selling 16,560 shares during the period. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc’s holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals were worth $1,864,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of IONS. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 967.2% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 141,917 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,961,000 after buying an additional 128,619 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 222.5% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 23,927 shares of the company’s stock valued at $836,000 after buying an additional 16,508 shares in the last quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 19.1% during the fourth quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 33,480 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,170,000 after buying an additional 5,359 shares in the last quarter. abrdn plc lifted its stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 32.4% during the fourth quarter. abrdn plc now owns 401,501 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,028,000 after buying an additional 98,227 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sovran Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at about $5,617,000. Institutional investors own 93.86% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, March 31st. They set a “neutral” rating and a $39.00 price objective for the company. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $67.00 to $64.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $70.00 price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target 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, Needham & Company LLC reduced their price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $60.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ionis Pharmaceuticals presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $56.67.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ionis Pharmaceuticals

In other news, EVP Patrick R. O’neil sold 1,207 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.35, for a total value of $39,046.45. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 56,245 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,819,525.75. This trade represents a 2.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Michael R. Hayden acquired 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 1st. The stock was bought at an average price of $31.86 per share, for a total transaction of $477,900.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 50,219 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,599,977.34. The trade was a 42.59% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 2,027 shares of company stock worth $62,863 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 2.60% of the company’s stock.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 1.2%

Shares of IONS stock opened at $32.99 on Friday. Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 12 month low of $23.95 and a 12 month high of $52.34. The company has a quick ratio of 8.82, a current ratio of 8.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.12. The business’s 50 day moving average is $30.54 and its two-hundred day moving average is $33.29. The company has a market cap of $5.25 billion, a PE ratio of -10.85 and a beta of 0.15.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported ($0.93) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($1.07) by $0.14. Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 100.05% and a negative net margin of 64.25%. The company had revenue of $132.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $144.31 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted ($0.98) earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -3.5 EPS for the current year.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Company 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.