Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) Shares Sold by Pictet Asset Management Holding SA

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA reduced its holdings in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS - Free Report) by 52.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 620,798 shares of the company's stock after selling 682,703 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA owned approximately 0.39% of Ionis Pharmaceuticals worth $21,703,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Signaturefd LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 160.0% during the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 949 shares of the company's stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 584 shares in the last quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC grew its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 183.8% during the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 1,036 shares of the company's stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 671 shares during the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. increased its stake 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 valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 314 shares in the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter worth $51,000. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth $107,000. 93.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on IONS. StockNews.com upgraded Ionis Pharmaceuticals to a "sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Redburn Atlantic started coverage on Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, March 31st. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $39.00 price objective for the company. Citigroup dropped their target price on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $67.00 to $64.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $70.00 price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, William Blair reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, December 20th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $58.37.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ionis Pharmaceuticals news, CFO Elizabeth L. Hougen sold 8,870 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.81, for a total value of $291,024.70. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 107,885 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,539,706.85. This trade represents a 7.60 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Brett P. Monia sold 38,843 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was 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. The trade was a 17.69 % 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. Insiders own 2.71% of the company's stock.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of IONS stock traded down $1.43 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $27.09. 2,292,741 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,474,437. Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $26.88 and a fifty-two week high of $52.34. The firm 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 quick ratio of 8.82, a current ratio of 8.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.12. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $32.05 and a two-hundred day moving average of $35.29.

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

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.