Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Cuts Stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. $IONS

Key Points

• Assenagon Asset Management cut its stake in Ionis by 90.6% in Q4, leaving it with 29,316 shares valued at about $2.32 million.
• Corporate insiders have sold heavily—1,035,882 shares worth roughly $80.49 million in the last 90 days—while institutional investors own 93.86% of the stock and insiders hold 2.71%.
• Analysts have an average rating of “Moderate Buy” with an average price target of $92.84; Ionis reported a Q4 EPS of -$1.41 (miss) on revenue of $203.33M (down 10.6% YoY), and the shares trade around $72.52 (52-week range $23.95–$86.74).

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. cut its holdings in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS - Free Report) by 90.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 29,316 shares of the company's stock after selling 282,981 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.'s holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals were worth $2,319,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. purchased a new position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 198.4% during the 3rd quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 376 shares of the company's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. purchased a new stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter valued at about $27,000. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, Johnson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter worth about $44,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.86% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on IONS. Morgan Stanley set a $95.00 price target on Ionis Pharmaceuticals and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $86.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 9th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $73.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. TD Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, December 3rd. Finally, Needham & Company LLC raised their price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $103.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ionis Pharmaceuticals has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $92.84.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of NASDAQ:IONS opened at $72.52 on Tuesday. Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 52-week low of $23.95 and a 52-week high of $86.74. The stock has a market cap of $11.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -29.72 and a beta of 0.31. The company has a quick ratio of 3.81, a current ratio of 3.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.76. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $78.83 and a 200-day moving average price of $75.86.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The company reported ($1.41) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($1.23) by ($0.18). Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 40.36% and a negative return on equity of 68.82%. The firm had revenue of $203.33 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $156.07 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($0.66) EPS. Ionis Pharmaceuticals's quarterly revenue was down 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -3.5 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ionis Pharmaceuticals

In other news, EVP Elizabeth L. Hougen sold 10,172 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.21, for a total value of $744,692.12. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 82,660 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,051,538.60. This represents a 10.96% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Eugene Schneider sold 5,812 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.97, for a total transaction of $412,477.64. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 63,890 shares in the company, valued at $4,534,273.30. The trade was a 8.34% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 1,035,882 shares of company stock worth $80,492,247. Corporate insiders own 2.71% of the company's stock.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals 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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