Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Has $51.79 Million Stock Holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS - Free Report) by 2.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,481,440 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 38,420 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned 0.94% of Ionis Pharmaceuticals worth $51,791,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter worth $42,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. boosted its holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 40.9% in the third quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 1,081 shares of the company's stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 314 shares in the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth $51,000. Quest Partners LLC raised its holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 94.8% during the third quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 2,674 shares of the company's stock valued at $107,000 after buying an additional 1,301 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter worth about $107,000. Institutional investors own 93.86% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on IONS. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $67.00 to $64.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. William Blair restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $70.00 target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $60.00 to $45.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $59.56.

Remove Ads

Insider Buying and Selling at Ionis Pharmaceuticals

In related news, EVP Eric Swayze sold 7,154 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.84, for a total transaction of $234,937.36. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 45,670 shares in the company, valued at $1,499,802.80. This trade represents a 13.54 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Brett P. Monia sold 38,843 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.65, for a total transaction of $1,229,380.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 180,683 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,718,616.95. This trade represents a 17.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 111,956 shares of company stock valued at $3,608,439. 2.71% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ IONS traded up $1.34 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $34.30. The stock had a trading volume of 1,350,907 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,408,917. Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a twelve month low of $30.23 and a twelve month 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 business's fifty day moving average is $32.71 and its two-hundred day moving average is $36.70. The company has a market cap of $5.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -11.28 and a beta of 0.28.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported ($0.66) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($1.12) by $0.46. The company had revenue of $227.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 period last year, the firm earned $0.12 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -3.5 EPS for the current year.

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.