Handelsbanken Fonder AB Has $3.40 Million Stock Holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. $IONS

Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) by 20.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 51,911 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,700 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals were worth $3,396,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of IONS. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. boosted its holdings in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 253.3% during the 2nd quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 3,800,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $150,138,000 after buying an additional 2,724,400 shares during the period. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership raised its holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 150.8% in the 3rd quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 890,072 shares of the company’s stock valued at $58,229,000 after acquiring an additional 535,110 shares during the period. Vestal Point Capital LP acquired a new stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter worth approximately $19,755,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter worth approximately $17,790,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 304.9% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 472,749 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,678,000 after acquiring an additional 355,981 shares during the period. 93.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, December 3rd. Barclays initiated coverage on Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $95.00 price objective on the stock. HC Wainwright lifted their target price on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 10th. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $86.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $82.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. One equities research 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $89.00.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 4.0%

Shares of NASDAQ IONS opened at $78.66 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.76, a quick ratio of 3.81 and a current ratio of 3.83. Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 52 week low of $23.95 and a 52 week high of $86.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.99 billion, a P/E ratio of -32.24 and a beta of 0.31. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $81.31 and its 200 day moving average is $72.85.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 25th. The company reported ($1.41) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($1.23) by ($0.18). The firm had revenue of $203.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $156.07 million. Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 68.82% and a negative net margin of 40.36%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($0.66) EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -3.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Ionis Pharmaceuticals

In other Ionis Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Eric Swayze sold 15,642 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.76, for a total transaction of $1,278,889.92. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 32,105 shares in the company, valued at $2,624,904.80. This represents a 32.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Brett P. Monia sold 29,430 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.79, for a total value of $2,524,799.70. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 254,497 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,833,297.63. This represents a 10.37% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 436,579 shares of company stock worth $35,367,233 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 2.71% of the company’s stock.

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.