Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) Shares Purchased by Canada Pension Plan Investment Board

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS - Free Report) by 77.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 19,900 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 8,700 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board's holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals were worth $696,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Everence Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter worth approximately $237,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 967.2% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 141,917 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,961,000 after acquiring an additional 128,619 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 222.5% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 23,927 shares of the company's stock worth $836,000 after purchasing an additional 16,508 shares during the last quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 19.1% during the 4th quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 33,480 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,170,000 after purchasing an additional 5,359 shares during the period. Finally, abrdn plc grew its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 32.4% during the 4th quarter. abrdn plc now owns 401,501 shares of the company's stock valued at $14,028,000 after purchasing an additional 98,227 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.86% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Brett P. Monia sold 13,242 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.45, for a total transaction of $429,702.90. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 219,526 shares in the company, valued at $7,123,618.70. The trade was a 5.69 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Patrick R. O'neil sold 6,165 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.62, for a total value of $194,937.30. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 57,452 shares in the company, valued at $1,816,632.24. The trade was a 9.69 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 63,167 shares of company stock worth $2,010,458 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 2.71% of the company's stock.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 3.0 %

Shares of IONS traded up $0.90 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $30.71. 2,396,925 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,542,196. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.12, a current ratio of 8.47 and a quick ratio of 8.82. The stock's 50-day moving average is $30.54 and its two-hundred day moving average is $33.76. Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 12 month low of $23.95 and a 12 month high of $52.34. The stock has a market cap of $4.88 billion, a P/E ratio of -10.10 and a beta of 0.29.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported ($0.93) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($1.07) by $0.14. Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 64.25% and a negative return on equity of 100.05%. The business had revenue of $132.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $144.31 million. During the same period last year, the company posted ($0.98) earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 10.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -3.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Guggenheim restated a "buy" rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Needham & Company LLC cut their price target on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $60.00 to $55.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Citigroup cut their price objective on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $67.00 to $64.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. StockNews.com raised Ionis Pharmaceuticals to a "sell" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, HC Wainwright began coverage on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday, April 7th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $45.00 target price on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ionis Pharmaceuticals currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $56.44.

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.