Sector Gamma AS Has $8.25 Million Position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS)

Sector Gamma AS lifted its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) by 11.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 235,842 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 25,000 shares during the quarter. Ionis Pharmaceuticals comprises about 2.8% of Sector Gamma AS’s portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest holding. Sector Gamma AS owned approximately 0.15% of Ionis Pharmaceuticals worth $8,245,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of IONS. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 7.4% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,668,358 shares of the company’s stock valued at $106,922,000 after buying an additional 183,814 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 967.2% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 141,917 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,961,000 after purchasing an additional 128,619 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 222.5% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 23,927 shares of the company’s stock valued at $836,000 after purchasing an additional 16,508 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 8.7% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,443,020 shares of the company’s stock valued at $57,807,000 after purchasing an additional 114,914 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 13.6% during the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 650,779 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,070,000 after purchasing an additional 77,909 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.86% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ionis Pharmaceuticals

In other Ionis Pharmaceuticals news, Director Michael R. Hayden purchased 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 23rd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $36.22 per share, for a total transaction of $181,100.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 35,219 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,275,632.18. This trade represents a 16.55 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Brett P. Monia sold 33,445 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.63, for a total transaction of $1,091,310.35. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 207,396 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,767,331.48. This trade represents a 13.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 111,956 shares of company stock worth $3,608,439. 2.71% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 1.8 %

Ionis Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $32.73 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 8.82, a current ratio of 8.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.12. Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 12-month low of $30.23 and a 12-month high of $52.34. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $32.63 and its 200 day moving average is $36.44. The company has a market capitalization of $5.20 billion, a PE ratio of -10.77 and a beta of 0.28.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $70.00 target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $51.00 to $47.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $60.00 target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $59.56.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

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.