Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) Shares Purchased by Swiss National Bank

Swiss National Bank grew its holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS - Free Report) by 8.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 279,200 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 22,600 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank owned about 0.18% of Ionis Pharmaceuticals worth $9,761,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in IONS. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. grew its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 40.9% during the 3rd quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 1,081 shares of the company's stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 314 shares during the period. Amalgamated Bank boosted its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 10,292 shares of the company's stock worth $360,000 after buying an additional 335 shares during the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. grew its holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 6.6% during the fourth quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 5,865 shares of the company's stock worth $205,000 after acquiring an additional 363 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 13,616 shares of the company's stock valued at $476,000 after acquiring an additional 504 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 5.8% in the third quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 9,363 shares of the company's stock valued at $375,000 after acquiring an additional 514 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.86% of the company's stock.

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Ionis Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 2.4 %

Shares of IONS traded down $0.78 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $31.49. The company had a trading volume of 1,431,245 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,649,606. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $32.58 and a 200-day simple moving average of $35.98. The company has a quick ratio of 8.82, a current ratio of 8.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.12. The stock has a market cap of $5.01 billion, a PE ratio of -10.36 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.

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, topping 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 business had revenue of $227.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $140.97 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.12 EPS. The business's revenue was down 30.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -3.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Eric Swayze sold 7,154 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.84, for a total value of $234,937.36. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 45,670 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,499,802.80. The trade was a 13.54 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Brett P. Monia sold 33,445 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.63, for a total value of $1,091,310.35. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 207,396 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,767,331.48. The trade was a 13.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 111,956 shares of company stock valued at $3,608,439 in the last quarter. Insiders own 2.71% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup cut their target price 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. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $60.00 price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, February 20th. StockNews.com raised shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals to a "sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $47.00 to $45.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $59.44.

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.