Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) Shares Sold by Candriam S.C.A.

Candriam S.C.A. lowered its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS - Free Report) by 10.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 849,824 shares of the company's stock after selling 98,442 shares during the period. Candriam S.C.A. owned approximately 0.54% of Ionis Pharmaceuticals worth $29,710,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Lindbrook Capital LLC boosted its stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 183.8% in the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 1,036 shares of the company's stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 671 shares in the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter valued at $40,000. Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter worth $42,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. grew its stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 40.9% during the 3rd quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 1,081 shares of the company's stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 314 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter valued at about $51,000. Institutional investors own 93.86% of the company's stock.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

IONS stock traded down $1.59 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $32.22. 2,259,448 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,676,863. Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 1-year low of $30.23 and a 1-year high of $52.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.12, a current ratio of 8.47 and a quick ratio of 8.82. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $32.91 and its 200-day simple moving average is $37.23. The firm has a market cap of $5.12 billion, a P/E ratio of -10.60 and a beta of 0.28.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com lowered Ionis Pharmaceuticals from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $70.00 target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $67.00 to $64.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $65.00 to $62.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and issued a $60.00 target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given 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.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $60.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Brett P. Monia sold 33,445 shares of the firm's 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 207,396 shares in the company, valued at $6,767,331.48. This trade represents a 13.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Michael R. Hayden purchased 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 23rd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $36.22 per share, for a total transaction of $181,100.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 35,219 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,275,632.18. The trade was a 16.55 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 111,816 shares of company stock worth $3,603,914 over the last 90 days. 2.71% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.