State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Sells 3,574 Shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS)

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D reduced its stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) by 6.5% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 51,775 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,574 shares during the quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals were worth $2,074,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. ARK Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. ARK Investment Management LLC now owns 1,384,269 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,454,000 after buying an additional 23,244 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc increased its holdings in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 6.1% during the second quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 952,762 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,409,000 after acquiring an additional 54,400 shares in the last quarter. Candriam S.C.A. raised its position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 4.0% during the second quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 948,266 shares of the company’s stock worth $45,192,000 after purchasing an additional 36,369 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 12.2% in the 1st quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 571,763 shares of the company’s stock worth $24,786,000 after purchasing an additional 62,230 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Great Point Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter valued at $15,728,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.86% of the company’s stock.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Ionis Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $34.34 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. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $39.62 and its 200 day simple moving average is $42.75. Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 12 month low of $34.24 and a 12 month high of $54.44. The company has a market cap of $5.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -14.07 and a beta of 0.39.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Brett P. Monia sold 6,630 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.05, for a total transaction of $252,271.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 167,393 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,369,303.65. This represents a 3.81 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Eric Swayze sold 1,194 shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.92, for a total transaction of $45,276.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 33,713 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,278,396.96. This represents a 3.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 8,197 shares of company stock valued at $315,310 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 2.71% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on IONS shares. Guggenheim lowered their price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $70.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, November 7th. TD Cowen raised their target price on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $54.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets downgraded Ionis Pharmaceuticals from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $67.00 to $60.00 in a report on Friday, August 2nd. 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 given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $60.65.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Company 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.