Sicart Associates LLC Sells 5,702 Shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS)

Sicart Associates LLC reduced its position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) by 3.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 185,821 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,702 shares during the quarter. Ionis Pharmaceuticals accounts for approximately 2.3% of Sicart Associates LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 17th biggest position. Sicart Associates LLC owned about 0.12% of Ionis Pharmaceuticals worth $6,496,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 83.9% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 664 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 303 shares during the period. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter valued at about $37,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter valued at about $40,000. Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter valued at about $42,000. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter valued at about $51,000. 93.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

IONS has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $70.00 price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday. StockNews.com cut Ionis Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $82.00 to $77.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $60.65.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Brett P. Monia sold 6,630 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.05, for a total value of $252,271.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 167,393 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,369,303.65. This represents a 3.81 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Michael R. Hayden bought 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 23rd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $36.22 per share, with a total value of $181,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 35,219 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,275,632.18. This trade represents a 16.55 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 2.71% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

IONS stock opened at $32.28 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 8.91, a quick ratio of 8.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86. Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 12-month low of $32.26 and a 12-month high of $52.49. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $35.79 and its 200 day moving average price is $41.28.

About Ionis Pharmaceuticals

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.