Schroder Investment Management Group Sells 4,830,563 Shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS)

Schroder Investment Management Group trimmed its stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS - Free Report) by 98.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 100,659 shares of the company's stock after selling 4,830,563 shares during the period. Schroder Investment Management Group owned about 0.06% of Ionis Pharmaceuticals worth $3,515,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 7.4% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,668,358 shares of the company's stock worth $106,922,000 after purchasing an additional 183,814 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 967.2% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 141,917 shares of the company's stock worth $4,961,000 after purchasing an additional 128,619 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 222.5% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 23,927 shares of the company's stock valued at $836,000 after acquiring an additional 16,508 shares in the last quarter. Groupama Asset Managment boosted its position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 916,060 shares of the company's stock valued at $367,000 after acquiring an additional 36,084 shares in the last quarter. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter valued at about $673,000. 93.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Remove Ads

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 5.7 %

NASDAQ:IONS traded down $1.58 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $26.19. The stock had a trading volume of 219,101 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,491,365. Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a one year low of $23.95 and a one 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. The company has a market cap of $4.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.62 and a beta of 0.29. The business's 50 day moving average is $31.41 and its 200-day moving average is $34.80.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported ($0.66) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($1.12) by $0.46. Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 64.25% and a negative return on equity of 100.05%. The firm had revenue of $227.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $140.97 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.12 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was down 30.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -3.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Eric Swayze sold 1,367 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.31, for a total transaction of $44,167.77. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 48,017 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,551,429.27. This represents a 2.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Patrick R. O'neil sold 1,207 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.35, for a total transaction of $39,046.45. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 56,245 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,819,525.75. The trade was a 2.10 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 111,956 shares of company stock worth $3,608,439 over the last quarter. 2.71% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

IONS has been the topic of several recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $70.00 target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. BMO Capital Markets decreased 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 research report on Thursday, February 20th. William Blair reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, December 20th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals to a "sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $47.00 to $45.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $56.79.

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.