Essential Planning LLC. Takes $428,000 Position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS)

Essential Planning LLC. acquired a new position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 11,440 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $428,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of IONS. Lindbrook Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 183.8% during the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 1,036 shares of the company's stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 671 shares during the last quarter. Prospera Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter valued at about $42,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. lifted its holdings in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 40.9% in the 3rd quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 1,081 shares of the company's stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 314 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter valued at about $51,000. Finally, Quest Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 94.8% in the third quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 2,674 shares of the company's stock worth $107,000 after buying an additional 1,301 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.86% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on IONS. Citigroup cut their price objective 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. Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $70.00 price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $60.00 price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $51.00 to $47.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, William Blair reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $59.56.

Remove Ads

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 0.2 %

NASDAQ IONS traded up $0.06 during trading on Friday, reaching $32.96. 1,205,709 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,408,553. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $32.75 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $36.97. The stock has a market cap of $5.24 billion, a P/E ratio of -10.84 and a beta of 0.28. 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 quick ratio of 8.82 and a current ratio of 8.47.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS - Get Free Report) last announced 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. 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $140.97 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.12 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 30.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -3.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Ionis Pharmaceuticals

In other news, EVP Patrick R. O'neil sold 1,207 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.35, for a total value of $39,046.45. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 56,245 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,819,525.75. This represents a 2.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Michael R. Hayden bought 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 23rd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $36.22 per share, for a total transaction of $181,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now 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 position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold 111,956 shares of company stock valued at $3,608,439 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 2.71% of the company's stock.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Company 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.