Amalgamated Bank Acquires 335 Shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS)

Amalgamated Bank lifted its holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) by 3.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,292 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 335 shares during the period. Amalgamated Bank’s holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals were worth $360,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in IONS. Baker BROS. Advisors LP bought a new position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter worth about $8,952,000. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 7.4% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,668,358 shares of the company’s stock worth $106,922,000 after acquiring an additional 183,814 shares in the last quarter. Sovran Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter worth about $5,617,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 967.2% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 141,917 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,961,000 after buying an additional 128,619 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 8.7% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,443,020 shares of the company’s stock valued at $57,807,000 after buying an additional 114,914 shares in the last quarter. 93.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ IONS opened at $32.95 on Wednesday. Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a twelve month low of $30.23 and a twelve month high of $52.34. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $33.11 and its 200-day moving average price is $37.61. The company has a market capitalization of $5.24 billion, a PE ratio of -10.84 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a quick ratio of 8.82, a current ratio of 8.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.12.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on IONS shares. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Citigroup decreased their target price on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $67.00 to $64.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. StockNews.com lowered Ionis Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $60.00 target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $60.00 to $45.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $60.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Patrick R. O’neil sold 6,165 shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.62, for a total value of $194,937.30. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 57,452 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,816,632.24. The trade was a 9.69 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Brett P. Monia sold 38,843 shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 180,683 shares in the company, valued at $5,718,616.95. This trade represents a 17.69 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 111,816 shares of company stock valued at $3,603,914. 2.71% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.