Jain Global LLC Grows Holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. $IONS

Jain Global LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) by 3,037.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 225,739 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 218,544 shares during the quarter. Jain Global LLC’s holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals were worth $14,768,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in IONS. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 72.5% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 652,518 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,686,000 after acquiring an additional 274,310 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 6.4% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 659,435 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,895,000 after purchasing an additional 39,794 shares during the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth increased its position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 30.1% in the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 9,832 shares of the company’s stock worth $297,000 after purchasing an additional 2,277 shares during the last quarter. Savant Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter valued at about $222,000. Finally, Allworth Financial LP lifted its position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 231.8% during the second quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 740 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 517 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.86% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Ionis Pharmaceuticals

In related news, Director Allene M. Diaz sold 54,878 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.35, for a total transaction of $4,354,569.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 3,811 shares in the company, valued at $302,402.85. The trade was a 93.51% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Shannon L. Devers sold 44,199 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.08, for a total value of $3,760,450.92. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 17,494 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,488,389.52. The trade was a 71.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders sold 804,850 shares of company stock valued at $63,765,602. 2.71% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on IONS. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $82.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Needham & Company LLC upped their price objective on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $90.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Ionis Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, February 28th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $89.00.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 1.6%

NASDAQ IONS opened at $71.19 on Monday. 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 one year low of $23.95 and a one year high of $86.74. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $80.51 and a 200-day simple moving average of $74.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.76 billion, a PE ratio of -29.18 and a beta of 0.31.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) last released 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). Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 68.82% and a negative net margin of 40.36%.The business had revenue of $203.33 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $156.07 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($0.66) EPS. Ionis Pharmaceuticals’s revenue was down 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -3.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Profile

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.