SEB Asset Management AB Invests $8.59 Million in Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. $IONS

SEB Asset Management AB purchased a new stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 114,334 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,585,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of IONS. Swiss National Bank raised its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 2.0% in the first quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 304,500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $22,865,000 after purchasing an additional 6,000 shares during the last quarter. ANB Bank grew its holdings in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 18.0% during the first quarter. ANB Bank now owns 3,769 shares of the company’s stock worth $283,000 after purchasing an additional 576 shares during the last quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System increased its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 19.7% in the first quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 255,485 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,184,000 after buying an additional 42,117 shares during the period. Future Fund LLC raised its holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 28.1% in the 1st quarter. Future Fund LLC now owns 58,732 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,410,000 after buying an additional 12,881 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assetmark Inc. raised its holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 10.7% in the 1st quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 9,574 shares of the company’s stock valued at $719,000 after buying an additional 924 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.86% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP C Frank Bennett sold 5,536 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.58, for a total transaction of $462,698.88. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 75,018 shares in the company, valued at $6,270,004.44. This represents a 6.87% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Allene M. Diaz sold 10,111 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.42, for a total value of $863,681.62. Following the sale, the director directly owned 3,811 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $325,535.62. This represents a 72.63% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 233,163 shares of company stock worth $18,316,551. 1.81% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 0.8%

IONS opened at $53.39 on Wednesday. Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a twelve month low of $40.03 and a twelve month high of $86.74. The company has a quick ratio of 4.09, a current ratio of 4.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.75. The company has a fifty day moving average of $72.82 and a 200-day moving average of $75.99. The stock has a market cap of $8.82 billion, a PE ratio of -25.79 and a beta of 0.36.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported ($0.56) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.85) by $0.29. The business had revenue of $246.09 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $195.56 million. Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 30.91% and a negative return on equity of 58.65%. Ionis Pharmaceuticals’s quarterly revenue was up 86.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned ($0.93) earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -3.76 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on IONS shares. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $113.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $111.00 price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $115.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Leerink Partners raised their target price on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $122.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. Eighteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $95.90.

About Ionis Pharmaceuticals

Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc is a biotechnology company focused on the discovery and development of RNA-targeted therapies designed to modulate gene expression. The company’s proprietary antisense oligonucleotide (ASO) technology enables the selective binding of short synthetic strands of nucleic acids to messenger RNA (mRNA), thereby inhibiting or altering the production of disease-causing proteins. Ionis’ pipeline spans a range of therapeutic areas, including neurological disorders, cardiovascular conditions, metabolic diseases and rare genetic disorders.

Since its founding in 1989 by Dr.