Sector Gamma AS Cuts Stock Holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. $IONS

Sector Gamma AS cut its stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) by 31.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 184,977 shares of the company’s stock after selling 85,986 shares during the quarter. Ionis Pharmaceuticals accounts for about 3.3% of Sector Gamma AS’s portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest position. Sector Gamma AS’s holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals were worth $14,634,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of IONS. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 72.5% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 652,518 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,686,000 after purchasing an additional 274,310 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 6.4% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 659,435 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,895,000 after purchasing an additional 39,794 shares during the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth raised its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 30.1% in the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 9,832 shares of the company’s stock worth $297,000 after purchasing an additional 2,277 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter worth approximately $220,000. Finally, Prudential Financial Inc. raised its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 47.8% in the second quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 9,254 shares of the company’s stock worth $341,000 after purchasing an additional 2,991 shares during the last quarter. 93.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

NASDAQ:IONS opened at $73.82 on Friday. Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 1 year low of $34.78 and a 1 year high of $86.74. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $74.98 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $77.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.75, a current ratio of 4.10 and a quick ratio of 4.09. The company has a market capitalization of $12.20 billion, a P/E ratio of -35.66 and a beta of 0.37.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported ($0.56) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.85) by $0.29. Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 58.65% and a negative net margin of 30.91%.The firm had revenue of $246.09 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $195.57 million. During the same period last year, the company earned ($0.93) earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 86.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -3.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Ionis Pharmaceuticals

In other news, EVP Elizabeth L. Hougen sold 215,048 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.40, for a total value of $15,569,475.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 92,832 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,721,036.80. This trade represents a 69.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Eugene Schneider sold 5,812 shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.97, for a total value of $412,477.64. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 63,890 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,534,273.30. This represents a 8.34% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 256,100 shares of company stock valued at $18,613,444. 1.81% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on IONS shares. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $95.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Piper Sandler increased their price target on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $87.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Needham & Company LLC increased their price target on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $103.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 25th. Barclays increased their price target on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $106.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Raymond James Financial started coverage on Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, April 10th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $104.00 price target for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $100.90.

About Ionis Pharmaceuticals

Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc is a biotechnology company focused on the discovery and development of RNA-targeted therapies designed to modulate gene expression. The company’s proprietary antisense oligonucleotide (ASO) technology enables the selective binding of short synthetic strands of nucleic acids to messenger RNA (mRNA), thereby inhibiting or altering the production of disease-causing proteins. Ionis’ pipeline spans a range of therapeutic areas, including neurological disorders, cardiovascular conditions, metabolic diseases and rare genetic disorders.

Since its founding in 1989 by Dr.