Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. $IONS Position Reduced by Sector Gamma AS

Sector Gamma AS trimmed its position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONSFree Report) by 5.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 270,963 shares of the company’s stock after selling 14,879 shares during the quarter. Ionis Pharmaceuticals makes up about 4.4% of Sector Gamma AS’s portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest holding. Sector Gamma AS owned 0.17% of Ionis Pharmaceuticals worth $17,726,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. grew its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 253.3% during the second quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 3,800,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $150,138,000 after buying an additional 2,724,400 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,891,095 shares of the company’s stock worth $114,245,000 after acquiring an additional 48,141 shares in the last quarter. Groupama Asset Managment grew its position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 8.6% during the 2nd quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 1,160,957 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,869,000 after acquiring an additional 91,746 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc raised its holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 1,104,690 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,646,000 after purchasing an additional 4,224 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 66.1% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 862,593 shares of the company’s stock worth $56,431,000 after purchasing an additional 343,409 shares in the last quarter. 93.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

NASDAQ:IONS opened at $80.04 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $12.96 billion, a P/E ratio of -47.36 and a beta of 0.28. Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a twelve month low of $23.95 and a twelve month high of $86.15. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $79.44 and its 200-day moving average price is $64.98. The company has a current ratio of 2.79, a quick ratio of 2.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONSGet Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The company reported ($0.80) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.15) by $0.35. Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 26.45% and a negative return on equity of 44.26%. The company had revenue of $156.72 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $131.75 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.95) EPS. Ionis Pharmaceuticals’s quarterly revenue was up 17.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -3.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $82.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $86.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 9th. HC Wainwright lifted their target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 10th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 1st. Finally, Leerink Partners upped their price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $85.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $86.45.

Check Out Our Latest Research Report on IONS

Key Headlines Impacting Ionis Pharmaceuticals

Here are the key news stories impacting Ionis Pharmaceuticals this week:

Insider Transactions at Ionis Pharmaceuticals

In other news, EVP Patrick R. O’neil sold 9,191 shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Friday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.84, for a total transaction of $697,045.44. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 66,171 shares in the company, valued at $5,018,408.64. The trade was a 12.20% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Shannon L. Devers sold 3,977 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.34, for a total transaction of $323,489.18. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 22,541 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,833,484.94. The trade was a 15.00% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 395,140 shares of company stock valued at $30,506,876. 2.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

(Free Report)

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.

Further Reading

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Institutional Ownership by Quarter for Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS)

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