BlueCrest Capital Management Ltd Purchases New Stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS)

BlueCrest Capital Management Ltd bought a new position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 26,200 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $916,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of IONS. Capital World Investors raised its holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 46.5% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 11,465,413 shares of the company's stock worth $400,831,000 after buying an additional 3,637,041 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at $59,948,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 9.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 16,472,539 shares of the company's stock worth $575,880,000 after purchasing an additional 1,416,781 shares in the last quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at about $8,041,000. Finally, Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth about $7,447,000. 93.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday, March 31st. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $39.00 price objective on the stock. Citigroup reduced their target price on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $67.00 to $64.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 20th. StockNews.com raised shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals to a "sell" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. HC Wainwright increased their price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Guggenheim lowered their price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $65.00 to $64.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ionis Pharmaceuticals currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $56.67.

Insider Transactions at Ionis Pharmaceuticals

In other Ionis Pharmaceuticals news, Director Michael R. Hayden purchased 15,000 shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 1st. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $31.86 per share, with a total value of $477,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 50,219 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,599,977.34. This trade represents a 42.59 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Patrick R. O'neil sold 1,207 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.35, for a total value of $39,046.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 56,245 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,819,525.75. The trade was a 2.10 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 2,027 shares of company stock worth $62,863 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 2.71% of the company's stock.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of IONS stock traded down $1.37 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $32.29. 833,505 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,553,403. The company has a current ratio of 8.47, a quick ratio of 8.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.12. Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 52-week low of $23.95 and a 52-week high of $52.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.59 and a beta of 0.29. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $30.60 and a 200 day simple moving average of $33.56.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported ($0.93) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($1.07) by $0.14. Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 100.05% and a negative net margin of 64.25%. The company had revenue of $132.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $144.31 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($0.98) EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 10.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict 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.