Advisors Asset Management Inc. Acquires 1,066 Shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS)

Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) by 21.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 6,140 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,066 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals were worth $246,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co increased its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 2.7% in the 1st quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 41,880 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,817,000 after acquiring an additional 1,099 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the first quarter valued at approximately $885,000. Swedbank AB bought a new position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the 1st quarter worth approximately $6,183,000. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky lifted its holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 70.6% during the 1st quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 24,083 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,044,000 after buying an additional 9,965 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale boosted its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 2.4% in the 1st quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 93,807 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,162,000 after buying an additional 2,193 shares during the last quarter. 93.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $60.00 price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $82.00 to $77.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $33.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $45.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $67.00 to $60.00 in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ionis Pharmaceuticals presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $60.65.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ionis Pharmaceuticals

In other Ionis Pharmaceuticals news, CEO Brett P. Monia sold 6,630 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.05, for a total transaction of $252,271.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 33,713 shares in the company, valued at $1,278,396.96. This trade represents a 3.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 7,877 shares of company stock valued at $299,578 in the last 90 days. 2.71% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ:IONS opened at $35.90 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $5.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -14.71 and a beta of 0.39. Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 12 month low of $33.33 and a 12 month high of $54.44. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $38.35 and its 200 day simple moving average is $42.39. The company has a quick ratio of 8.82, a current ratio of 8.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86.

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.