Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) Stock Holdings Boosted by Sector Gamma AS

Sector Gamma AS raised its stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS - Free Report) by 11.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 235,842 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 25,000 shares during the period. Ionis Pharmaceuticals comprises 2.8% of Sector Gamma AS's holdings, making the stock its 16th biggest holding. Sector Gamma AS owned about 0.15% of Ionis Pharmaceuticals worth $8,245,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 7.4% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,668,358 shares of the company's stock valued at $106,922,000 after acquiring an additional 183,814 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,481,440 shares of the company's stock valued at $51,791,000 after acquiring an additional 38,420 shares during the period. Two Sigma Advisers LP boosted its holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 3.5% during the third quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 1,332,411 shares of the company's stock worth $53,376,000 after buying an additional 45,300 shares in the last quarter. Groupama Asset Managment boosted its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 916,060 shares of the company's stock worth $367,000 after acquiring an additional 36,084 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 13.6% in the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 650,779 shares of the company's stock valued at $26,070,000 after buying an additional 77,909 shares in the last quarter. 93.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $47.00 to $45.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday. William Blair reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, December 20th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $70.00 target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $67.00 to $64.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Ionis Pharmaceuticals to a "sell" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $59.44.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ionis Pharmaceuticals

In other news, EVP Eric Swayze sold 7,154 shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.84, for a total transaction of $234,937.36. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 45,670 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,499,802.80. The trade was a 13.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Patrick R. O'neil sold 6,165 shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.62, for a total value of $194,937.30. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 57,452 shares in the company, valued at $1,816,632.24. This represents a 9.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 111,956 shares of company stock valued at $3,608,439 over the last three months. 2.71% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 3.5 %

Shares of IONS traded down $1.18 on Tuesday, hitting $32.27. 1,980,250 shares of the stock traded hands, 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 stock's 50 day moving average is $32.58 and its two-hundred day moving average is $35.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.13 billion, a P/E ratio of -10.62 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.

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