Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) Shares Purchased by State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D lifted its holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS - Free Report) by 22.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 63,206 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 11,431 shares during the quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D's holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals were worth $2,210,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in IONS. Creative Planning increased its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 5.7% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 28,382 shares of the company's stock worth $1,137,000 after acquiring an additional 1,522 shares during the period. 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 acquiring an additional 319,065 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 21.3% during the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 5,288 shares of the company's stock valued at $216,000 after buying an additional 930 shares during the period. abrdn plc grew its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 22.8% during the third quarter. abrdn plc now owns 303,274 shares of the company's stock valued at $12,064,000 after buying an additional 56,357 shares during the period. Finally, China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 64.0% during the third quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 28,121 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,127,000 after buying an additional 10,971 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.86% of the company's stock.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

NASDAQ:IONS opened at $32.33 on Friday. The company's 50-day moving average price is $33.65 and its 200-day moving average price is $38.36. 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 company has a market cap of $5.10 billion, a P/E ratio of -10.63 and a beta of 0.34. Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a twelve month low of $30.23 and a twelve month high of $52.34.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported ($0.66) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($1.12) by $0.46. The firm had revenue of $227.00 million for 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 111.15%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 30.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.12 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -3.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Ionis Pharmaceuticals

In other Ionis Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Eric Swayze sold 1,367 shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.31, for a total transaction of $44,167.77. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 48,017 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,551,429.27. The trade was a 2.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Patrick R. O'neil sold 6,165 shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.62, for a total transaction of $194,937.30. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 57,452 shares in the company, valued at $1,816,632.24. This trade represents a 9.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 110,609 shares of company stock valued at $3,564,867. Corporate insiders own 2.71% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

IONS has been the topic of several analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and set a $60.00 price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $65.00 to $62.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $60.00 to $45.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. 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. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $60.00.

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.

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