Kennedy Capital Management LLC Has $7.81 Million Stock Position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS)

Kennedy Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS - Free Report) by 37.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 223,278 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 61,202 shares during the quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC owned 0.14% of Ionis Pharmaceuticals worth $7,806,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Xponance Inc. increased its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 19,339 shares of the company's stock valued at $676,000 after acquiring an additional 318 shares during the last quarter. Amalgamated Bank lifted its holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 10,292 shares of the company's stock worth $360,000 after purchasing an additional 335 shares in the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. grew its stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 6.6% during the fourth quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 5,865 shares of the company's stock valued at $205,000 after acquiring an additional 363 shares in the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 21,826 shares of the company's stock worth $763,000 after buying an additional 373 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina boosted its position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 68,803 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,405,000 after acquiring an additional 440 shares during the last quarter. 93.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Remove Ads

Insider Activity at Ionis Pharmaceuticals

In other Ionis Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Patrick R. O'neil sold 1,207 shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 56,245 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,819,525.75. The trade was a 2.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Eric Swayze sold 7,154 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.84, for a total value of $234,937.36. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 45,670 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,499,802.80. This trade represents a 13.54 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 111,956 shares of company stock worth $3,608,439. 2.71% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on IONS shares. HC Wainwright began coverage on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, April 7th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $45.00 price objective for the company. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $60.00 price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday. Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $47.00 to $45.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Finally, William Blair restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $56.72.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 1.0 %

Ionis Pharmaceuticals stock traded down $0.30 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $28.38. The stock had a trading volume of 1,507,854 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,513,899. The company has a current ratio of 8.47, a quick ratio of 8.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.12. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $31.13 and a 200 day moving average price of $34.48. Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 12 month low of $23.95 and a 12 month high of $52.34. The stock has a market cap of $4.51 billion, a P/E ratio of -9.34 and a beta of 0.29.

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

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.