Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) Holdings Lowered by California Public Employees Retirement System

California Public Employees Retirement System lowered its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS - Free Report) by 9.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 192,130 shares of the company's stock after selling 19,626 shares during the quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System owned approximately 0.12% of Ionis Pharmaceuticals worth $6,717,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 7.4% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,668,358 shares of the company's stock worth $106,922,000 after buying an additional 183,814 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 967.2% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 141,917 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,961,000 after acquiring an additional 128,619 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 222.5% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 23,927 shares of the company's stock worth $836,000 after acquiring an additional 16,508 shares during the period. Groupama Asset Managment grew its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 916,060 shares of the company's stock valued at $367,000 after purchasing an additional 36,084 shares during the last quarter. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter valued at approximately $673,000. 93.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Remove Ads

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Patrick R. O'neil sold 6,165 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.62, for a total transaction of $194,937.30. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 57,452 shares in the company, valued at $1,816,632.24. This represents a 9.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Brett P. Monia sold 33,445 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.63, for a total value of $1,091,310.35. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 207,396 shares in the company, valued at $6,767,331.48. The trade was a 13.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 111,956 shares of company stock valued at $3,608,439 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 2.71% of the company's stock.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 4.5 %

Shares of IONS stock traded up $1.19 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $27.90. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,010,951 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,506,022. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $31.22 and its 200-day simple moving average is $34.61. 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, Inc. has a 12-month low of $23.95 and a 12-month high of $52.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.44 billion, a PE ratio of -9.18 and a beta of 0.29.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported ($0.66) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 analyst estimates of $140.97 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.12 EPS. Ionis Pharmaceuticals's revenue for the quarter was down 30.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -3.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on IONS. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $70.00 price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Guggenheim restated a "buy" rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $60.00 price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday. HC Wainwright began coverage on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday, April 7th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $45.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Citigroup dropped their target price on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $67.00 to $64.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ionis Pharmaceuticals currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $56.72.

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.