Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) Stock Position Boosted by Swiss National Bank

Swiss National Bank raised its holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) by 8.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 279,200 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 22,600 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank owned 0.18% of Ionis Pharmaceuticals worth $9,761,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 7.4% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,668,358 shares of the company’s stock valued at $106,922,000 after buying an additional 183,814 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,481,440 shares of the company’s stock worth $51,791,000 after buying an additional 38,420 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP grew its holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 3.5% during the third quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 1,332,411 shares of the company’s stock valued at $53,376,000 after purchasing an additional 45,300 shares during the last quarter. Groupama Asset Managment grew its holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 4.1% during the third quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 916,060 shares of the company’s stock valued at $367,000 after purchasing an additional 36,084 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 13.6% in the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 650,779 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,070,000 after acquiring an additional 77,909 shares during the period. 93.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of IONS opened at $32.91 on Friday. Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 1 year low of $30.23 and a 1 year high of $52.34. The company has a current ratio of 8.47, a quick ratio of 8.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.12. The stock has a market cap of $5.23 billion, a P/E ratio of -10.83 and a beta of 0.28. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $32.62 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $36.34.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported ($0.66) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($1.12) by $0.46. The business had revenue of $227.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $140.97 million. Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 100.05% and a negative net margin of 64.25%. Ionis Pharmaceuticals’s revenue for the quarter was down 30.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.12 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -3.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on IONS. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $70.00 price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. StockNews.com raised Ionis Pharmaceuticals to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, December 20th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $60.00 to $45.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their target price on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $67.00 to $64.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $59.56.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ionis Pharmaceuticals

In related news, CEO Brett P. Monia sold 38,843 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.65, for a total transaction of $1,229,380.95. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 180,683 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,718,616.95. The trade was a 17.69 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Patrick R. O’neil sold 1,207 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.35, for a total value of $39,046.45. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 56,245 shares in the company, valued at $1,819,525.75. The trade was a 2.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 111,956 shares of company stock worth $3,608,439. Corporate insiders own 2.71% of the company’s stock.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Profile

Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc discovers and develops RNA-targeted therapeutics in the United States. The company offers SPINRAZA for spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) in pediatric and adult patients; TEGSEDI, an antisense injection for the treatment of polyneuropathy caused by hereditary transthyretin amyloidosis in adults; and WAYLIVRA, an antisense medicine for treatment for familial chylomicronemia syndrome (FCS) and familial partial lipodystrophy.