Intech Investment Management LLC Acquires Shares of 9,602 Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. $IONS

Intech Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 9,602 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $760,000.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Capital World Investors lifted its holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 1.5% during the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 12,722,728 shares of the company’s stock valued at $832,321,000 after purchasing an additional 182,540 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,148,849 shares of the company’s stock valued at $249,158,000 after purchasing an additional 82,560 shares during the last quarter. Tweedy Browne Co LLC lifted its holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 0.3% during the third quarter. Tweedy Browne Co LLC now owns 2,901,216 shares of the company’s stock valued at $189,798,000 after purchasing an additional 9,268 shares during the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lifted its holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 1,418,491 shares of the company’s stock valued at $112,476,000 after purchasing an additional 25,367 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 190.3% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,372,225 shares of the company’s stock valued at $89,771,000 after purchasing an additional 899,476 shares during the last quarter. 93.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ionis Pharmaceuticals

In other Ionis Pharmaceuticals 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 transaction of $15,569,475.20. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 92,832 shares in the company, valued at $6,721,036.80. This trade represents a 69.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Spencer R. Berthelsen sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.67, for a total transaction of $605,360.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 156,013 shares in the company, valued at $11,805,503.71. The trade was a 4.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders sold 256,100 shares of company stock valued at $18,613,444. 1.81% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 1.3%

IONS stock opened at $73.54 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 4.10, a quick ratio of 4.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.75. The company’s 50 day moving average is $74.94 and its 200 day moving average is $77.81. The stock has a market cap of $12.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -35.53 and a beta of 0.37. Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 1-year low of $34.78 and a 1-year high of $86.74.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported ($0.56) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.85) by $0.29. Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 30.91% and a negative return on equity of 58.65%. The business had revenue of $246.09 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $195.57 million. During the same period last year, the business earned ($0.93) earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 86.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -3.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

IONS has been the topic of several recent research reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday, May 18th. They set a “buy” rating and a $115.00 price objective on the stock. Needham & Company LLC upped their price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $103.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 25th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $111.00 price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $100.90.

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.