Stempoint Capital LP Buys Shares of 26,385 Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. $IONS

Stempoint Capital LP purchased a new stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 26,385 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,981,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. purchased a new position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the first quarter worth approximately $30,000. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth $38,000. Johnson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth $44,000. Finally, Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at $47,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.86% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $113.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Needham & Company LLC decreased their price objective on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $105.00 to $86.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $108.00 price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday, June 15th. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $111.00 target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $115.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 10th. Eighteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $95.60.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of IONS opened at $54.04 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $70.48 and a two-hundred day moving average of $74.92. 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, Inc. has a twelve month low of $40.03 and a twelve month high of $86.74. The company has a market cap of $8.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -26.11 and a beta of 0.36.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported ($0.56) earnings per share (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 business had revenue of $246.09 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $195.56 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.93) earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 86.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -3.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

More Ionis Pharmaceuticals News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Q2 results exceeded expectations. Ionis reported a quarterly loss below Wall Street forecasts—reported figures ranged from $0.43 to $0.70 per share, compared with estimates for a loss of roughly $0.89 to $1.08. Revenue of approximately $268 million also surpassed consensus estimates near $189 million. Management highlighted progress across several commercial and clinical programs. Ionis Pharmaceuticals Reports Q2 Loss, Tops Revenue Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Olezarsen development expanded. Ionis announced an update to a Phase 3 pediatric trial evaluating olezarsen in familial chylomicronemia syndrome, extending the program’s potential reach in a rare-disease market. The study remains clinical-stage, so the announcement does not yet provide efficacy results or guarantee approval. Ionis Expands Rare Disease Reach With Pediatric FCS Trial for Olezarsen
• Neutral Sentiment: Chief scientific officer transition announced. Dr. Frank Bennett plans to retire as Ionis’s chief scientific officer. The change may draw attention because of his long association with the company’s antisense platform, although Ionis has not indicated an immediate disruption to its research programs. Ionis Announces Dr. Frank Bennett to Retire
• Negative Sentiment: Investors remain focused on a major trial setback. A late-stage heart-disease therapy developed with AstraZeneca failed to meet its target, causing a sharp prior selloff and increasing uncertainty around Ionis’s pipeline and future milestone revenue. Ionis Faces Investor Scrutiny After Surprise Trial Failure
• Negative Sentiment: Shareholder investigations add headline risk. Pomerantz and Hagens Berman announced investigations into whether Ionis adequately disclosed information related to the failed trial. These announcements do not establish wrongdoing, but they add legal and reputational uncertainty. Pomerantz Investor Alert

Insider Transactions at Ionis Pharmaceuticals

In related news, Director Allene M. Diaz sold 10,111 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.42, for a total transaction of $863,681.62. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 3,811 shares in the company, valued at $325,535.62. The trade was a 72.63% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Holly B. Kordasiewicz sold 362 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.30, for a total value of $30,516.60. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 22,096 shares in the company, valued at $1,862,692.80. This represents a 1.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 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 corporate insiders.

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.