Arrowpoint Investment Partners Singapore Pte. Ltd. Acquires 19,554 Shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. $IONS

Key Points

• Arrowpoint Investment Partners Singapore increased its Ionis Pharmaceuticals stake by 357.9% in the fourth quarter, buying 19,554 additional shares and bringing its total to 25,017 shares worth about $1.98 million.
• Wall Street sentiment on Ionis remains constructive overall, with analysts assigning a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $100.90; several firms recently raised their targets.
• Ionis reported better-than-expected quarterly results, posting a smaller-than-expected loss of $0.56 per share on $246.09 million in revenue, while insiders continued to sell shares during the quarter.

Arrowpoint Investment Partners Singapore Pte. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS - Free Report) by 357.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 25,017 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 19,554 shares during the period. Ionis Pharmaceuticals comprises approximately 0.3% of Arrowpoint Investment Partners Singapore Pte. Ltd.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest holding. Arrowpoint Investment Partners Singapore Pte. Ltd.'s holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals were worth $1,979,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 7,219.3% in the third quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 958,829 shares of the company's stock valued at $62,727,000 after acquiring an additional 945,729 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 190.3% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,372,225 shares of the company's stock worth $89,771,000 after purchasing an additional 899,476 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership purchased a new stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $41,223,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 230.4% in the 3rd quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 878,155 shares of the company's stock worth $57,449,000 after purchasing an additional 612,362 shares during the period. Finally, Vestal Point Capital LP raised its holdings in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 115.0% in the 3rd quarter. Vestal Point Capital LP now owns 1,075,000 shares of the company's stock worth $70,326,000 after purchasing an additional 575,000 shares during the period. 93.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $73.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $87.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, February 27th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Ionis Pharmaceuticals from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $106.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ionis Pharmaceuticals currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $100.90.

Insider Activity at Ionis Pharmaceuticals

In related news, EVP Kyle Jenne sold 37,277 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.85, for a total transaction of $2,827,460.45. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 11,714 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $888,506.90. This represents a 76.09% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Patrick R. O'neil sold 10,148 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.25, for a total transaction of $763,637.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 62,211 shares in the company, valued at $4,681,377.75. This represents a 14.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 464,298 shares of company stock valued at $34,319,225 in the last quarter. 1.81% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

NASDAQ:IONS opened at $75.13 on Friday. The business's fifty day moving average is $74.91 and its 200 day moving average is $77.81. The firm has a market cap of $12.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -36.29 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.75, a quick ratio of 4.09 and a current ratio of 4.10. Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 52-week low of $34.78 and a 52-week high of $86.74.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported ($0.56) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.85) by $0.29. Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 58.65% and a negative net margin of 30.91%.The business had revenue of $246.09 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $195.57 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.93) EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 86.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -3.78 EPS for the current year.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc is a biotechnology company focused on the discovery and development of RNA-targeted therapies designed to modulate gene expression. The company's proprietary antisense oligonucleotide (ASO) technology enables the selective binding of short synthetic strands of nucleic acids to messenger RNA (mRNA), thereby inhibiting or altering the production of disease-causing proteins. Ionis' pipeline spans a range of therapeutic areas, including neurological disorders, cardiovascular conditions, metabolic diseases and rare genetic disorders.

Since its founding in 1989 by Dr.

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