Stempoint Capital LP Purchases New Position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. $IONS

Stempoint Capital LP purchased a new position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 26,385 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,981,000.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 72.5% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 652,518 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,686,000 after purchasing 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% during 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 valued at $19,895,000 after purchasing an additional 39,794 shares during the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth raised its holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 30.1% during the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 9,832 shares of the company’s stock valued at $297,000 after buying an additional 2,277 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. bought a new stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter worth $220,000. Finally, Prudential Financial Inc. lifted its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 47.8% in the second quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 9,254 shares of the company’s stock worth $341,000 after buying an additional 2,991 shares during the last quarter. 93.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

IONS has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Leerink Partners increased their target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $122.00 to $129.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $100.00 to $85.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 13th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $111.00 price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $113.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Eighteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ionis Pharmaceuticals currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $95.60.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

IONS stock opened at $54.04 on Thursday. Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a twelve month low of $40.03 and a twelve month high of $86.74. The firm has a market cap of $8.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -26.11 and a beta of 0.36. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $70.48 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $74.92. The company has a quick ratio of 4.09, a current ratio of 4.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.75.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported ($0.56) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.85) by $0.29. The firm had revenue of $246.09 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $195.56 million. Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 30.91% and a negative return on equity of 58.65%. The business’s revenue was up 86.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.93) earnings per share. Analysts predict that Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -3.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Allene M. Diaz sold 10,111 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.42, for a total value of $863,681.62. Following the transaction, the director owned 3,811 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $325,535.62. This represents a 72.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Brett P. Monia sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.59, for a total value of $4,029,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 245,571 shares in the company, valued at $19,790,566.89. The trade was a 16.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 233,163 shares of company stock worth $18,316,551 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 1.81% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Ionis Pharmaceuticals

Here are the key news stories impacting Ionis Pharmaceuticals this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q2 results exceeded expectations. Ionis reported a quarterly loss below Wall Street forecasts—reported figures ranged from $0.43 to $0.70 per share, compared with estimates for a loss of roughly $0.89 to $1.08. Revenue of approximately $268 million also surpassed consensus estimates near $189 million. Management highlighted progress across several commercial and clinical programs. Ionis Pharmaceuticals Reports Q2 Loss, Tops Revenue Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Olezarsen development expanded. Ionis announced an update to a Phase 3 pediatric trial evaluating olezarsen in familial chylomicronemia syndrome, extending the program’s potential reach in a rare-disease market. The study remains clinical-stage, so the announcement does not yet provide efficacy results or guarantee approval. Ionis Expands Rare Disease Reach With Pediatric FCS Trial for Olezarsen
• Neutral Sentiment: Chief scientific officer transition announced. Dr. Frank Bennett plans to retire as Ionis’s chief scientific officer. The change may draw attention because of his long association with the company’s antisense platform, although Ionis has not indicated an immediate disruption to its research programs. Ionis Announces Dr. Frank Bennett to Retire
• Negative Sentiment: Investors remain focused on a major trial setback. A late-stage heart-disease therapy developed with AstraZeneca failed to meet its target, causing a sharp prior selloff and increasing uncertainty around Ionis’s pipeline and future milestone revenue. Ionis Faces Investor Scrutiny After Surprise Trial Failure
• Negative Sentiment: Shareholder investigations add headline risk. Pomerantz and Hagens Berman announced investigations into whether Ionis adequately disclosed information related to the failed trial. These announcements do not establish wrongdoing, but they add legal and reputational uncertainty. Pomerantz Investor Alert

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.