Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Sells 247,037 Shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lessened its holdings in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS - Free Report) by 91.1% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 24,226 shares of the company's stock after selling 247,037 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.'s holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals were worth $1,155,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 162.2% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,616,978 shares of the company's stock valued at $233,573,000 after buying an additional 2,856,353 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at about $59,288,000. Groupama Asset Managment acquired a new stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth about $18,068,000. First Turn Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth about $18,044,000. Finally, C WorldWide Group Holding A S purchased a new stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth approximately $15,177,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.86% of the company's stock.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:IONS traded down $0.62 during trading on Friday, reaching $46.92. The company had a trading volume of 773,066 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,194,068. The firm's fifty day moving average is $47.16 and its 200 day moving average is $44.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.15, a quick ratio of 7.28 and a current ratio of 7.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.85 billion, a PE ratio of -17.57 and a beta of 0.40. Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a twelve month low of $35.95 and a twelve month high of $54.44.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported ($0.45) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.92) by $0.47. Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 109.65% and a negative net margin of 44.90%. The firm had revenue of $225.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $152.35 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.60 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 19.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -3.9 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Ionis Pharmaceuticals

In related news, EVP Richard S. Geary sold 2,430 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.00, for a total transaction of $116,640.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 85,508 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,104,384. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, EVP Richard S. Geary sold 2,430 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.00, for a total transaction of $116,640.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 85,508 shares in the company, valued at $4,104,384. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Joseph Klein III sold 12,000 shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total transaction of $600,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 16,346 shares in the company, valued at approximately $817,300. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 2.71% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Guggenheim lifted their target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $64.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Leerink Partnrs upgraded Ionis Pharmaceuticals from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Ionis Pharmaceuticals from an "underperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and set a $44.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, June 14th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $50.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $45.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $60.68.

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.