Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) Shares Sold by Tweedy Browne Co LLC

Tweedy Browne Co LLC reduced its position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS - Free Report) by 6.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,248,863 shares of the company's stock after selling 205,813 shares during the quarter. Ionis Pharmaceuticals comprises 7.7% of Tweedy Browne Co LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest holding. Tweedy Browne Co LLC owned about 2.06% of Ionis Pharmaceuticals worth $113,580,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at about $59,948,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 9.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 16,472,539 shares of the company's stock valued at $575,880,000 after acquiring an additional 1,416,781 shares during the last quarter. Baker BROS. Advisors LP bought a new position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter valued at about $8,952,000. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of 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. Finally, Sovran Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter worth approximately $5,617,000. 93.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Patrick R. O'neil sold 1,207 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $1,819,525.75. This represents a 2.10 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Brett P. Monia sold 38,843 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.65, for a total value of $1,229,380.95. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 180,683 shares of the company's stock, 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 three months, insiders sold 111,956 shares of company stock worth $3,608,439. Corporate insiders own 2.71% of the company's stock.

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Ionis Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 5.0 %

Shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals stock traded down $1.43 during trading on Friday, hitting $27.09. 2,292,741 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,474,437. The stock has a market cap of $4.31 billion, a P/E ratio of -8.91 and a beta of 0.28. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $32.05 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $35.29. Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a twelve month low of $26.88 and a twelve month 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 posted its 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 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 analysts' expectations of $140.97 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.12 earnings per share. The company's revenue was down 30.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -3.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on IONS shares. William Blair restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Redburn Atlantic started coverage on Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday, March 31st. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $39.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com raised Ionis Pharmaceuticals to a "sell" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Citigroup dropped their price target on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $67.00 to $64.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, Guggenheim reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $58.37.

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.