Xponance Inc. Acquires 318 Shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS)

Xponance Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) by 1.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 19,339 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 318 shares during the period. Xponance Inc.’s holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals were worth $676,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 7.4% in 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 during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,481,440 shares of the company’s stock valued at $51,791,000 after acquiring an additional 38,420 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP boosted its stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 1,332,411 shares of the company’s stock worth $53,376,000 after purchasing an additional 45,300 shares during the period. Groupama Asset Managment increased its holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 916,060 shares of the company’s stock worth $367,000 after purchasing an additional 36,084 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 13.6% in the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 650,779 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,070,000 after purchasing an additional 77,909 shares during the period. 93.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 3.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ:IONS opened at $32.27 on Wednesday. Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 12-month low of $30.23 and a 12-month high of $52.34. The business has a 50 day moving average of $32.58 and a 200-day moving average of $35.98. The company has a quick ratio of 8.82, a current ratio of 8.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.12. The stock has a market cap of $5.13 billion, a PE ratio of -10.62 and a beta of 0.28.

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

Insider Activity at Ionis Pharmaceuticals

In related news, 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 56,245 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,819,525.75. The trade was a 2.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Eric Swayze sold 7,154 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.84, for a total value of $234,937.36. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 45,670 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,499,802.80. This trade represents a 13.54 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 111,956 shares of company stock worth $3,608,439. Corporate insiders own 2.71% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $47.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, December 20th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $60.00 to $45.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $67.00 to $64.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $59.44.

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.