Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) Shares Acquired by E Fund Management Co. Ltd.

E Fund Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) by 32.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 16,868 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,116 shares during the period. E Fund Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals were worth $590,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Lindbrook Capital LLC lifted its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 183.8% during the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 1,036 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 671 shares during the period. Inceptionr LLC purchased a new position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth about $503,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth about $3,692,000. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 8.8% during the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 41,147 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,438,000 after buying an additional 3,320 shares during the period. Finally, Aigen Investment Management LP lifted its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 52.6% during the fourth quarter. Aigen Investment Management LP now owns 17,723 shares of the company’s stock worth $620,000 after buying an additional 6,111 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.86% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on IONS. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $60.00 price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, February 20th. StockNews.com downgraded Ionis Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Citigroup cut their price objective on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $67.00 to $64.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $70.00 price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $60.00.

Insider Transactions at Ionis Pharmaceuticals

In other news, EVP Patrick R. O’neil sold 6,165 shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.62, for a total value of $194,937.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 57,452 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,816,632.24. This trade represents a 9.69 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Michael R. Hayden bought 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 23rd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $36.22 per share, with a total value of $181,100.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 35,219 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,275,632.18. This represents a 16.55 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 111,816 shares of company stock worth $3,603,914. 2.71% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ IONS opened at $33.81 on Friday. Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $30.23 and a fifty-two week high of $52.34. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $32.95 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $37.47. The company has a quick ratio of 8.82, a current ratio of 8.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.12. The firm has a market cap of $5.37 billion, a PE ratio of -11.12 and a beta of 0.34.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported ($0.66) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.12) by $0.46. The firm had revenue of $227.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $140.97 million. Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 100.05% and a negative net margin of 64.25%. Ionis Pharmaceuticals’s quarterly revenue was down 30.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.12 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -3.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Ionis Pharmaceuticals

Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc discovers and develops RNA-targeted therapeutics in the United States. The company offers SPINRAZA for spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) in pediatric and adult patients; TEGSEDI, an antisense injection for the treatment of polyneuropathy caused by hereditary transthyretin amyloidosis in adults; and WAYLIVRA, an antisense medicine for treatment for familial chylomicronemia syndrome (FCS) and familial partial lipodystrophy.