Granite Investment Partners LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. $IONS

Granite Investment Partners LLC trimmed its stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) by 35.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 28,033 shares of the company’s stock after selling 15,148 shares during the period. Granite Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals were worth $1,834,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of IONS. CWM LLC grew its stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 7.3% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,488 shares of the company’s stock worth $163,000 after buying an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 198.4% during the 3rd quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 376 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Mather Group LLC. purchased a new position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter worth $27,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 44.2% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,341 shares of the company’s stock valued at $88,000 after acquiring an additional 411 shares during the last quarter. 93.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 1.7%

Shares of IONS stock opened at $84.60 on Tuesday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $81.02 and a 200 day moving average of $71.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 2.79 and a quick ratio of 2.78. Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 1-year low of $23.95 and a 1-year high of $86.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.70 billion, a PE ratio of -50.06 and a beta of 0.29.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $82.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. Barclays began coverage on Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $95.00 price objective on the stock. Raymond James Financial restated a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $89.00 target price (up previously from $85.00) on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 1st. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $86.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $86.95.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Eugene Schneider sold 6,179 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.45, for a total value of $515,637.55. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 69,702 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,816,631.90. This trade represents a 8.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP C Frank Bennett sold 85,089 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.93, for a total transaction of $7,056,430.77. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 80,293 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,658,698.49. This represents a 51.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 464,579 shares of company stock valued at $37,630,193. 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.