GW&K Investment Management LLC Sells 184,823 Shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. $IONS

GW&K Investment Management LLC lessened its stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) by 41.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 264,007 shares of the company’s stock after selling 184,823 shares during the period. GW&K Investment Management LLC owned about 0.16% of Ionis Pharmaceuticals worth $17,271,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of IONS. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 72.5% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 652,518 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,686,000 after buying an additional 274,310 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 6.4% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 659,435 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,895,000 after acquiring an additional 39,794 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth boosted its stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 30.1% during the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 9,832 shares of the company’s stock worth $297,000 after acquiring an additional 2,277 shares in the last quarter. Atria Investments Inc acquired a new position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $323,000. Finally, Amalgamated Bank boosted its holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 9.0% in the second quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 11,526 shares of the company’s stock worth $455,000 after acquiring an additional 953 shares in the last quarter. 93.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Eric Swayze sold 15,642 shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.76, for a total transaction of $1,278,889.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 32,105 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,624,904.80. This trade represents a 32.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director B Lynne Parshall sold 5,000 shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.72, for a total value of $413,600.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 56,344 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,660,775.68. The trade was a 8.15% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 596,652 shares of company stock valued at $48,059,821 over the last ninety days. 2.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 1.5%

Shares of IONS opened at $74.04 on Friday. Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $23.95 and a fifty-two week high of $86.74. The firm has a market cap of $12.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -30.34 and a beta of 0.31. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $81.06 and a 200-day moving average price of $73.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.76, a quick ratio of 3.81 and a current ratio of 3.83.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The company reported ($1.41) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($1.23) by ($0.18). Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 68.82% and a negative net margin of 40.36%.The company had revenue of $203.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $156.07 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned ($0.66) earnings per share. Ionis Pharmaceuticals’s revenue was down 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -3.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Ionis Pharmaceuticals this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Broker upgrades and higher price targets are supporting upside sentiment — multiple firms recently raised ratings/targets (examples include Leerink and H.C. Wainwright), which can attract buyers and underpin the stock. Leerink Raises PT HC Wainwright Buy
• Positive Sentiment: An analyst raised Q1 EPS estimates for Ionis, which narrows short‑term earnings uncertainty and could support a re-rating if results confirm the revision. Q1 EPS Estimate Boosted
• Neutral Sentiment: Peer data flow — Biogen is presenting new SMA data this week. Positive competitor readouts can be a headwind for Ionis’ SMA-related programs or, alternatively, validate the market; implications are mixed for Ionis’ pipeline valuation. Biogen SMA Data
• Negative Sentiment: Significant insider selling by senior executives and a director is weighing on sentiment — EVP C. Frank Bennett sold ~85,089 shares, Director Allene Diaz sold ~54,878 shares and EVP Shannon Devers sold ~20,106 shares in early March; those large, concentrated disposals (multi‑million dollar amounts) often trigger investor concern about management conviction. Insider Sales
• Negative Sentiment: Fundamental headwinds remain — the most recent quarter missed EPS expectations (despite a revenue beat) and the company still projects negative full‑year earnings, keeping profitability and cash‑flow concerns front of mind for investors. Recent Earnings Recap

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

IONS has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $82.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $95.00 target price for the company. Bank of America upped their price objective on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $86.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 9th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $73.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ionis Pharmaceuticals has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $89.00.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Profile

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.