Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) Shares Purchased by Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc.

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS - Free Report) by 8.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,443,020 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 114,914 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned 0.91% of Ionis Pharmaceuticals worth $57,807,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Great Point Partners LLC bought a new position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter worth $15,728,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 3,287.0% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 328,772 shares of the company's stock worth $13,171,000 after purchasing an additional 319,065 shares during the period. Logos Global Management LP bought a new position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter worth about $14,298,000. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 1,021.5% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 173,199 shares of the company's stock worth $8,255,000 after purchasing an additional 157,756 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB bought a new stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $6,183,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.86% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on IONS. Barclays upped their price target on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $45.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Guggenheim cut their target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $70.00 to $65.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $33.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $82.00 to $77.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $60.65.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Brett P. Monia sold 6,630 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.05, for a total value of $252,271.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 167,393 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,369,303.65. This trade represents a 3.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Eric Swayze sold 1,194 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.92, for a total transaction of $45,276.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 33,713 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,278,396.96. This trade represents a 3.42 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 7,877 shares of company stock worth $299,578. Company insiders own 2.71% of the company's stock.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of IONS stock traded down $0.17 during trading on Friday, hitting $35.73. The company's stock had a trading volume of 622,388 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,330,294. Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 52 week low of $33.33 and a 52 week high of $54.44. The company has a current ratio of 8.91, a quick ratio of 8.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86. The business has a fifty day moving average of $38.07 and a 200-day moving average of $42.33. The company has a market cap of $5.64 billion, a PE ratio of -14.64 and a beta of 0.39.

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.