Squarepoint Ops LLC Sells 170,978 Shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. $IONS

Squarepoint Ops LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) by 56.0% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 134,395 shares of the company’s stock after selling 170,978 shares during the quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC owned about 0.08% of Ionis Pharmaceuticals worth $5,310,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 3.9% during the 2nd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 11,411 shares of the company’s stock valued at $451,000 after purchasing an additional 424 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP boosted its position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 231.8% in the second quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 740 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 517 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC lifted its stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 46.9% in the 2nd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 2,030 shares of the company’s stock worth $80,000 after purchasing an additional 648 shares in the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 237,931 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,401,000 after purchasing an additional 798 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 15.6% in the second quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 6,148 shares of the company’s stock worth $243,000 after purchasing an additional 829 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.86% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ionis Pharmaceuticals

In other Ionis Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Patrick R. O’neil sold 64,664 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.69, for a total value of $4,377,106.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 57,130 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,867,129.70. This represents a 53.09% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Joseph H. Wender sold 28,000 shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.82, for a total transaction of $2,262,960.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 36,035 shares in the company, valued at $2,912,348.70. The trade was a 43.73% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders sold 504,866 shares of company stock worth $35,744,766. 2.71% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 2.1%

Shares of NASDAQ:IONS opened at $80.82 on Monday. Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 12-month low of $23.95 and a 12-month high of $83.61. The company has a current ratio of 2.79, a quick ratio of 2.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $74.91 and its 200-day moving average price is $56.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.09 billion, a P/E ratio of -47.82 and a beta of 0.29.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The company reported ($0.80) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($1.15) by $0.35. The business had revenue of $156.72 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $131.75 million. Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 44.26% and a negative net margin of 26.45%.Ionis Pharmaceuticals’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned ($0.95) EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -3.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on IONS shares. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $59.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $69.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 3rd. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $40.00 to $70.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $77.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ionis Pharmaceuticals has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $84.85.

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.