Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. $IONS Shares Acquired by Geode Capital Management LLC

Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) by 2.7% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 3,148,849 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 82,560 shares during the quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals were worth $249,158,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Capital World Investors lifted its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 1.5% in the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 12,722,728 shares of the company’s stock worth $832,321,000 after acquiring an additional 182,540 shares in the last quarter. Tweedy Browne Co LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 0.3% in the third quarter. Tweedy Browne Co LLC now owns 2,901,216 shares of the company’s stock worth $189,798,000 after acquiring an additional 9,268 shares in the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lifted its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 1,418,491 shares of the company’s stock worth $112,476,000 after acquiring an additional 25,367 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 190.3% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,372,225 shares of the company’s stock worth $89,771,000 after acquiring an additional 899,476 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 45.9% in the third quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 1,154,166 shares of the company’s stock worth $75,506,000 after acquiring an additional 363,094 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.86% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

IONS has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded Ionis Pharmaceuticals from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and set a $125.00 price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Leerink Partners upped their price objective on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $102.00 to $104.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group assumed coverage on Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, April 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $110.00 price objective on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $100.90.

Insider Activity at Ionis Pharmaceuticals

In other news, EVP Kyle Jenne sold 37,277 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.85, for a total transaction of $2,827,460.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 11,714 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $888,506.90. This represents a 76.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Patrick R. O’neil sold 10,148 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.25, for a total value of $763,637.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 62,211 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,681,377.75. This trade represents a 14.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders sold 456,298 shares of company stock valued at $33,713,865. 1.81% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 3.2%

Shares of NASDAQ IONS opened at $72.97 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $74.70 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $77.75. Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 52-week low of $33.95 and a 52-week high of $86.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.06 billion, a P/E ratio of -35.25 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a quick ratio of 4.09, a current ratio of 4.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.75.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported ($0.56) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $195.57 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.93) earnings per share. Ionis Pharmaceuticals’s revenue for the quarter was up 86.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -3.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.