KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Makes New Investment in Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 29,200 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,021,000.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Sector Gamma AS boosted its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 11.9% during the 4th quarter. Sector Gamma AS now owns 235,842 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,245,000 after buying an additional 25,000 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas boosted its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 16.0% during the fourth quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 65,792 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,300,000 after purchasing an additional 9,093 shares during the last quarter. Privium Fund Management B.V. grew its stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 6.4% in the fourth quarter. Privium Fund Management B.V. now owns 266,794 shares of the company's stock valued at $9,327,000 after purchasing an additional 16,050 shares in the last quarter. Xponance Inc. raised its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 19,339 shares of the company's stock worth $676,000 after purchasing an additional 318 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Horizon Kinetics Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. Horizon Kinetics Asset Management LLC now owns 12,476 shares of the company's stock worth $436,000 after purchasing an additional 524 shares in the last quarter. 93.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on IONS shares. Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $47.00 to $45.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $60.00 target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $70.00 price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $60.00 to $45.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $58.37.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Brett P. Monia sold 38,843 shares of the 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 180,683 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,718,616.95. This represents a 17.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Eric Swayze sold 7,154 shares of the business'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 transaction of $234,937.36. Following the completion of 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. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 111,956 shares of company stock worth $3,608,439. 2.71% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Ionis Pharmaceuticals stock traded down $0.19 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $28.52. 1,920,462 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,466,203. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.53 billion, a P/E ratio of -9.38 and a beta of 0.28. The business's 50-day moving average is $32.20 and its two-hundred day moving average is $35.43. 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, Inc. has a 12 month low of $27.00 and a 12 month high of $52.34.

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