DAVENPORT & Co LLC Reduces Stock Position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS)

DAVENPORT & Co LLC decreased its holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS - Free Report) by 17.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 62,740 shares of the company's stock after selling 12,858 shares during the period. DAVENPORT & Co LLC's holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals were worth $2,193,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of IONS. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 7.4% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,668,358 shares of the company's stock valued at $106,922,000 after acquiring an additional 183,814 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 8.7% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,443,020 shares of the company's stock worth $57,807,000 after buying an additional 114,914 shares during the last quarter. ARK Investment Management LLC increased its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. ARK Investment Management LLC now owns 1,384,269 shares of the company's stock valued at $55,454,000 after buying an additional 23,244 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP raised its stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 3.5% in the third quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 1,332,411 shares of the company's stock valued at $53,376,000 after buying an additional 45,300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Groupama Asset Managment grew its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 4.1% during the third quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 916,060 shares of the company's stock worth $367,000 after acquiring an additional 36,084 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.86% of the company's stock.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

IONS traded down $1.23 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $31.40. 1,184,184 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,668,259. The company has a market capitalization of $4.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -12.87 and a beta of 0.34. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $34.79 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $39.58. The company has a current ratio of 8.91, a quick ratio of 8.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86. Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 52-week low of $31.03 and a 52-week high of $52.34.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on IONS. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $65.00 to $62.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $60.00 target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $70.00 price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. StockNews.com lowered Ionis Pharmaceuticals from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, William Blair reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, December 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $60.65.

Insider Transactions at Ionis Pharmaceuticals

In other news, EVP Eric Swayze sold 1,194 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.92, for a total value 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Brett P. Monia sold 38,843 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 180,683 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,718,616.95. This trade represents a 17.69 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 118,433 shares of company stock valued at $3,862,415. Corporate insiders own 2.71% of the company's stock.

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.