23,703 Shares in Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) Purchased by Proficio Capital Partners LLC

Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 23,703 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $829,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 7.4% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,668,358 shares of the company's stock worth $106,922,000 after buying an additional 183,814 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 967.2% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 141,917 shares of the company's stock worth $4,961,000 after acquiring an additional 128,619 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 222.5% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 23,927 shares of the company's stock worth $836,000 after acquiring an additional 16,508 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 8.7% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,443,020 shares of the company's stock valued at $57,807,000 after acquiring an additional 114,914 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 13.6% during the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 650,779 shares of the company's stock valued at $26,070,000 after purchasing an additional 77,909 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.86% of the company's stock.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

IONS has been the topic of a number of research reports. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $70.00 target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, February 20th. StockNews.com upgraded Ionis Pharmaceuticals to a "sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and issued a $60.00 target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, February 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $47.00 to $45.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday. Finally, William Blair reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $59.44.

Insider Activity

In other Ionis Pharmaceuticals news, CEO Brett P. Monia sold 38,843 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 180,683 shares in the company, valued at $5,718,616.95. This trade represents a 17.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Patrick R. O'neil sold 1,207 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 56,245 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,819,525.75. The trade was a 2.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 111,956 shares of company stock worth $3,608,439. 2.71% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 3.5 %

IONS stock traded down $1.18 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $32.27. The stock had a trading volume of 1,980,250 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,421,936. Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 1-year low of $30.23 and a 1-year high of $52.34. The company has a fifty day moving average of $32.58 and a 200 day moving average of $35.98. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $5.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.62 and a beta of 0.28.

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

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Company 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.