Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) Shares Acquired by Handelsbanken Fonder AB

Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) by 26.8% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 43,011 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,100 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals were worth $1,723,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mather Group LLC. acquired a new stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the first quarter worth $29,000. nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter worth about $29,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter worth about $37,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. acquired a new position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the first quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 948.8% during the first quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,178 shares of the company’s stock valued at $138,000 after purchasing an additional 2,875 shares during the last quarter. 93.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 0.3 %

NASDAQ IONS opened at $37.95 on Friday. Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 12 month low of $35.95 and a 12 month high of $54.44. The company has a market capitalization of $5.54 billion, a P/E ratio of -14.21 and a beta of 0.38. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $44.27 and its 200 day simple moving average is $43.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.67, a current ratio of 7.61 and a quick ratio of 7.51.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported ($0.45) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.92) by $0.47. The company had revenue of $225.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $152.35 million. Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 115.66% and a negative net margin of 44.90%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 19.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.60 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -3.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on IONS shares. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $54.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $44.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, June 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $33.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $75.00 price target on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $60.28.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Joseph Klein III sold 12,000 shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total value of $600,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 16,346 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $817,300. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, Director Joseph Klein III sold 12,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total value of $600,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 16,346 shares in the company, valued at $817,300. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Richard S. Geary sold 2,430 shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.00, for a total value of $116,640.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 85,508 shares in the company, valued at $4,104,384. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 14,750 shares of company stock worth $732,371. Company insiders own 2.71% of the company’s stock.

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.