Empowered Funds LLC Has $7.75 Million Holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. $IONS

Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) by 318.1% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 103,141 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 78,470 shares during the quarter. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals were worth $7,745,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Capital World Investors grew its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 41.2% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 17,961,299 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,420,918,000 after acquiring an additional 5,238,571 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 19,941.6% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,321,345 shares of the company’s stock valued at $104,532,000 after purchasing an additional 1,314,752 shares during the last quarter. Baker BROS. Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 216.1% in the 4th quarter. Baker BROS. Advisors LP now owns 1,791,841 shares of the company’s stock valued at $141,753,000 after purchasing an additional 1,225,043 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 7,219.3% in the 3rd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 958,829 shares of the company’s stock valued at $62,727,000 after purchasing an additional 945,729 shares during the period. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership bought a new stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter valued at $41,223,000. 93.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ionis Pharmaceuticals

In related news, EVP Holly B. Kordasiewicz sold 362 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.30, for a total value of $30,516.60. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 22,096 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,862,692.80. The trade was a 1.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Allene M. Diaz sold 10,111 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.42, for a total transaction of $863,681.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 3,811 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $325,535.62. This trade represents a 72.63% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 233,163 shares of company stock worth $18,316,551 in the last 90 days. 1.81% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 2.8%

IONS opened at $51.77 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $8.56 billion, a P/E ratio of -14.96 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.07, a current ratio of 7.89 and a quick ratio of 4.09. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $69.55 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $74.57. Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $40.03 and a fifty-two week high of $86.74.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported ($0.56) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.85) by $0.29. The company had revenue of $246.09 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $195.56 million. Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 64.76% and a negative return on equity of 111.08%. The business’s revenue was up 86.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted ($0.93) EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -3.69 EPS for the current year.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Ionis beat Wall Street’s second-quarter revenue and earnings expectations, helped by commercial growth despite difficult year-over-year comparisons. Management also reaffirmed its 2026 outlook, supporting confidence in the company’s operating trajectory. Zacks Q2 earnings report
• Positive Sentiment: Director Michael R. Hayden bought 15,000 shares for approximately $800,700 on July 30 and another 5,000 shares for $258,000 on July 31. The purchases materially increased his ownership and may be viewed as a signal of confidence in Ionis’s valuation and prospects. SEC insider-trading filing
• Neutral Sentiment: Wells Fargo lowered its price target from $100 to $95 while maintaining an “overweight” rating. The reduced target reflects more cautious valuation expectations, but the rating remains bullish. Benzinga analyst report
• Neutral Sentiment: HC Wainwright cut its target from $125 to $115 but retained a “buy” rating, similarly indicating lower near-term valuation expectations while maintaining a positive view of the stock. StreetInsider analyst report
• Negative Sentiment: Pomerantz LLP announced an investigation into potential claims on behalf of Ionis investors. Although the announcement does not establish wrongdoing, it adds legal and reputational uncertainty and may weigh on sentiment. Pomerantz investor alert

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on IONS. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and set a $111.00 price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday. Wolfe Research reissued a “peer perform” rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Guggenheim lowered their price target on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $106.00 to $89.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group cut their price target on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $110.00 to $95.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 10th. 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $94.85.

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.