C WorldWide Group Holding A S Sells 60,000 Shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. $IONS

C WorldWide Group Holding A S reduced its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) by 14.1% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 366,000 shares of the company’s stock after selling 60,000 shares during the period. Ionis Pharmaceuticals accounts for 0.5% of C WorldWide Group Holding A S’s portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest position. C WorldWide Group Holding A S’s holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals were worth $28,954,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in IONS. Marshall Wace LLP raised its holdings in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 7,219.3% in the third quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 958,829 shares of the company’s stock valued at $62,727,000 after acquiring an additional 945,729 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 190.3% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,372,225 shares of the company’s stock valued at $89,771,000 after acquiring an additional 899,476 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership bought a new stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter valued at about $41,223,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 230.4% in the third quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 878,155 shares of the company’s stock valued at $57,449,000 after acquiring an additional 612,362 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vestal Point Capital LP raised its holdings in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 115.0% in the third quarter. Vestal Point Capital LP now owns 1,075,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $70,326,000 after acquiring an additional 575,000 shares in the last quarter. 93.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Elizabeth L. Hougen sold 215,048 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.40, for a total value of $15,569,475.20. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 92,832 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,721,036.80. This represents a 69.85% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP C Frank Bennett sold 85,089 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.23, for a total transaction of $6,741,601.47. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 80,554 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,382,293.42. This trade represents a 51.37% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 637,013 shares of company stock worth $48,098,942 in the last quarter. 2.71% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $75.71 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.51 billion, a P/E ratio of -36.57 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a quick ratio of 4.09, a current ratio of 4.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.75. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $74.79 and a 200 day moving average price of $77.42. Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 52 week low of $32.00 and a 52 week high of $86.74.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported ($0.56) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.85) by $0.29. The firm had revenue of $246.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $195.57 million. Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 30.91% and a negative return on equity of 58.65%. Ionis Pharmaceuticals’s revenue was up 86.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted ($0.93) EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -3.76 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on IONS shares. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $111.00 target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $100.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Needham & Company LLC boosted their target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $103.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 25th. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $87.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 27th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $99.35.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Company 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.