Teacher Retirement System of Texas Sells 194,328 Shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. $IONS

Teacher Retirement System of Texas decreased its position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) by 29.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 473,945 shares of the company’s stock after selling 194,328 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas owned about 0.30% of Ionis Pharmaceuticals worth $31,005,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Grandfield & Dodd LLC increased its holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Grandfield & Dodd LLC now owns 37,675 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,465,000 after purchasing an additional 445 shares in the last quarter. Dynasty Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth $938,000. Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter valued at $88,000. Amalgamated Bank raised its holdings in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 5.8% in the third quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 12,195 shares of the company’s stock valued at $798,000 after buying an additional 669 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 66.1% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 862,593 shares of the company’s stock valued at $56,431,000 after buying an additional 343,409 shares during the last quarter. 93.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Shannon L. Devers sold 44,199 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.08, for a total transaction of $3,760,450.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 17,494 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,488,389.52. The trade was a 71.64% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Eric Swayze sold 23,463 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.12, for a total transaction of $1,856,392.56. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 30,453 shares in the company, valued at $2,409,441.36. This represents a 43.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 395,140 shares of company stock valued at $30,506,876. Insiders own 2.60% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on IONS. Needham & Company LLC increased their price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $78.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Oppenheimer raised their price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $84.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Raymond James Financial restated a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $89.00 price objective (up previously from $85.00) on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, HC Wainwright upped their price objective on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $86.45.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

IONS opened at $80.04 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $79.44 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $64.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.96 billion, a PE ratio of -47.36 and a beta of 0.28. Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 52 week low of $23.95 and a 52 week high of $86.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 2.78 and a current ratio of 2.79.

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. Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 44.26% and a negative net margin of 26.45%.The business had revenue of $156.72 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $131.75 million. During the same period last year, the company earned ($0.95) EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 17.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -3.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Trending Headlines about Ionis Pharmaceuticals

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

• Positive Sentiment: EU approval for Dawnzera (hereditary angioedema) expands Ionis’ commercial footprint after the prior U.S. clearance, increasing potential revenue and reinforcing the drug’s global launch narrative. This regulatory milestone supports longer-term sales upside and de-risks a marketed asset. Ionis’ Dawnzera Gets EU Approval for Hereditary Angioedema
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple insiders filed sales of Ionis shares today (large aggregate volumes from senior staff), which can be interpreted as profit-taking or signal reduced insider conviction and may pressure the stock in the near term. Key filings reported include sales by Brett Monia (44,034 shares), Elizabeth Hougen (12,922), Patrick O’Neil (9,191), Eugene Schneider (9,302), C. Frank Bennett (8,977), Brian Birchler (8,480), Shannon Devers (8,353), and two earlier smaller transactions. These are sizeable individual dispositions and bear watching for follow-on selling or the stated reasons in the filings (e.g., diversification, tax, option exercises).
  Brett Monia Sells 44,034 Shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) Stock
  Elizabeth Hougen Sells 12,922 Shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) Stock
  Patrick O’neil Sells 9,191 Shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) Stock
  Eugene Schneider Sells 9,302 Shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) Stock
  C Frank Bennett Sells 8,977 Shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) Stock
  Brian Birchler Sells 8,480 Shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) Stock
  Shannon Devers Sells 8,353 Shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) Stock
  Kyle Jenne Sells 1,823 Shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) Stock
  Holly Kordasiewicz Sells 4,141 Shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) Stock

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.