Future Fund LLC Boosts Stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. $IONS

Future Fund LLC raised its position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) by 28.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 58,732 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 12,881 shares during the period. Ionis Pharmaceuticals accounts for approximately 1.6% of Future Fund LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest holding. Future Fund LLC’s holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals were worth $4,410,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 274,310 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 39,794 shares during the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth raised its stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 30.1% in the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 9,832 shares of the company’s stock valued at $297,000 after acquiring an additional 2,277 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. bought a new stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter valued at about $220,000. Finally, Prudential Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 47.8% during the second quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 9,254 shares of the company’s stock valued at $341,000 after purchasing an additional 2,991 shares during the last quarter. 93.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

IONS has been the subject of a number of research reports. Canaccord Genuity Group cut their target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $110.00 to $95.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Wolfe Research reissued a “peer perform” rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. HC Wainwright cut their price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $130.00 to $125.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $115.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Eighteen equities research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $96.05.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ionis Pharmaceuticals

In other Ionis Pharmaceuticals news, EVP C Frank Bennett sold 5,536 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.58, for a total value of $462,698.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 75,018 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,270,004.44. This trade represents a 6.87% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Eugene Schneider sold 26,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.05, for a total transaction of $2,107,300.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 77,114 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,250,089.70. This trade represents a 25.21% 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. Insiders have sold a total of 233,163 shares of company stock worth $18,316,551 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.81% of the company’s stock.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 0.5%

IONS stock opened at $54.39 on Friday. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $8.99 billion, a PE ratio of -26.28 and a beta of 0.36. Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a twelve month low of $40.03 and a twelve month high of $86.74. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $73.72 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $76.38.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported ($0.56) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $246.09 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $195.56 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.93) earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 86.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -3.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.