Aberdeen Group plc Buys 44,696 Shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. $IONS

Key Points

• Aberdeen Group plc increased its stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 11.1%, acquiring an additional 44,696 shares, bringing its total holding to 446,197 shares valued at approximately $13.5 million.
• Ionis Pharmaceuticals reported a quarterly earnings EPS of $0.70, exceeding analyst expectations of $0.19, with revenue up 100.9% year-over-year to $452 million.
• Despite a recent 0.8% decline in share price, analysts have maintained a positive outlook, with multiple upgrades and a consensus target price of $59.38 for Ionis shares.

Aberdeen Group plc increased its holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS - Free Report) by 11.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 446,197 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 44,696 shares during the quarter. Aberdeen Group plc owned about 0.28% of Ionis Pharmaceuticals worth $13,500,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of IONS. Vestal Point Capital LP bought a new position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter worth about $20,801,000. Orbimed Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 21.2% in the 4th quarter. Orbimed Advisors LLC now owns 2,817,347 shares of the company's stock worth $98,494,000 after acquiring an additional 492,900 shares in the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas increased its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 660.7% in the 1st quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 500,451 shares of the company's stock worth $15,099,000 after acquiring an additional 434,659 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 79.7% in the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 774,215 shares of the company's stock worth $27,067,000 after acquiring an additional 343,492 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aquatic Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter worth about $8,041,000. 93.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on IONS. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $45.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 12th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $77.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $65.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday. Guggenheim reduced their price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $65.00 to $64.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $60.85.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

NASDAQ IONS traded down $0.55 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $42.69. 1,859,935 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,166,917. The business's fifty day moving average price is $41.38 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $35.11. The company has a current ratio of 2.87, a quick ratio of 2.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.80 billion, a P/E ratio of -23.20 and a beta of 0.25. Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 52 week low of $23.95 and a 52 week high of $50.43.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $0.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.19 by $0.51. The company had revenue of $452.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $270.90 million. Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 28.25% and a negative return on equity of 45.29%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 100.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted ($0.45) earnings per share. Ionis Pharmaceuticals has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -3.5 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Ionis Pharmaceuticals

In other news, CEO Brett P. Monia sold 2,432 shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.00, for a total transaction of $109,440.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 179,820 shares in the company, valued at $8,091,900. This trade represents a 1.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Richard S. Geary sold 10,000 shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.86, for a total transaction of $428,600.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 89,492 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,835,627.12. The trade was a 10.05% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 38,141 shares of company stock valued at $1,644,606 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 2.60% of the company's stock.

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.