Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) Stock Position Lifted by Rhenman & Partners Asset Management AB

Rhenman & Partners Asset Management AB increased its position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS - Free Report) by 9.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 212,500 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 17,500 shares during the period. Rhenman & Partners Asset Management AB owned approximately 0.13% of Ionis Pharmaceuticals worth $7,429,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth approximately $59,948,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 9.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 16,472,539 shares of the company's stock worth $575,880,000 after acquiring an additional 1,416,781 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 7.4% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,668,358 shares of the company's stock worth $106,922,000 after acquiring an additional 183,814 shares in the last quarter. Sovran Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at $5,617,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 967.2% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 141,917 shares of the company's stock worth $4,961,000 after purchasing an additional 128,619 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.86% of the company's stock.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $60.00 to $45.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $47.00 to $45.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 24th. William Blair reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, March 31st. They set a "neutral" rating and a $39.00 price target for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ionis Pharmaceuticals currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $56.79.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 5.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ IONS traded down $1.52 on Thursday, reaching $26.25. 680,841 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,493,135. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.17 billion, a PE ratio of -8.62 and a beta of 0.29. Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $23.95 and a fifty-two week high of $52.34. 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 company has a 50 day moving average of $31.41 and a 200 day moving average of $34.80.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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. Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 64.25% and a negative return on equity of 100.05%. The company had revenue of $227.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $140.97 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.12 earnings per share. Ionis Pharmaceuticals's revenue was down 30.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -3.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Brett P. Monia sold 38,843 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at approximately $5,718,616.95. This trade represents a 17.69 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Elizabeth L. Hougen sold 8,870 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 107,885 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,539,706.85. This represents a 7.60 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 111,956 shares of company stock worth $3,608,439 over the last ninety days. 2.71% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.