223,142 Shares in Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. $IONS Bought by Empowered Funds LLC

Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 223,142 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,693,000. Empowered Funds LLC owned about 0.13% of Ionis Pharmaceuticals at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Capital World Investors increased its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 41.2% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 17,961,299 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,420,918,000 after acquiring an additional 5,238,571 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 19,941.6% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,321,345 shares of the company’s stock worth $104,532,000 after acquiring an additional 1,314,752 shares during the last quarter. Baker BROS. Advisors LP grew its holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 216.1% during the fourth quarter. Baker BROS. Advisors LP now owns 1,791,841 shares of the company’s stock valued at $141,753,000 after purchasing an additional 1,225,043 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP grew its holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 7,219.3% during the third quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 958,829 shares of the company’s stock valued at $62,727,000 after purchasing an additional 945,729 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter valued at approximately $62,718,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.86% of the company’s stock.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of IONS opened at $61.05 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $10.15 billion, a P/E ratio of -17.64 and a beta of 0.41. Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a twelve month low of $42.13 and a twelve month high of $86.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.07, a quick ratio of 7.73 and a current ratio of 7.89. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $63.05 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $71.38.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported ($0.69) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($1.08) by $0.39. Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 64.76% and a negative return on equity of 111.08%. The company had revenue of $267.95 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $189.10 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.70 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 40.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -3.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Ionis Pharmaceuticals

In other news, Director Allene M. Diaz sold 10,111 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.42, for a total value of $863,681.62. Following the sale, the director directly owned 3,811 shares in the company, valued at $325,535.62. The trade was a 72.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Michael R. Hayden acquired 5,000 shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 31st. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $51.60 per share, with a total value of $258,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 24,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,238,400. This trade represents a 26.32% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 233,163 shares of company stock worth $18,316,551. 1.81% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on IONS. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, August 1st. HC Wainwright decreased their price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price objective on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $100.00 to $85.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their target price on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $115.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 10th. Seventeen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $94.15.

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.