Atle Fund Management AB Purchases Shares of 92,377 Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. $IONS

Key Points

• Atle Fund Management AB disclosed a new fourth-quarter stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals, buying 92,377 shares valued at about $7.3 million. The position represents roughly 2.3% of its portfolio and makes IONS its 15th largest holding.
• Wall Street sentiment remains positive, with multiple analysts raising price targets and the stock carrying an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $100.90. Recent targets ranged from $100 to $111.
• Ionis reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, posting a smaller-than-expected loss and $246 million in revenue, up 86.4% year over year. However, insiders have been selling shares, including large reductions by two executives in March.

Atle Fund Management AB purchased a new stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 92,377 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,308,000. Ionis Pharmaceuticals accounts for approximately 2.3% of Atle Fund Management AB's portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest position. Atle Fund Management AB owned approximately 0.06% of Ionis Pharmaceuticals at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of IONS. Wedmont Private Capital raised its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 5,536 shares of the company's stock worth $460,000 after buying an additional 173 shares during the period. Golden State Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 198.4% during the 3rd quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 376 shares of the company's stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 250 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio raised its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 48,545 shares of the company's stock worth $3,176,000 after buying an additional 301 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 29.2% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,733 shares of the company's stock worth $137,000 after buying an additional 392 shares during the period. Finally, Grandfield & Dodd LLC raised its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Grandfield & Dodd LLC now owns 37,675 shares of the company's stock worth $2,465,000 after buying an additional 445 shares during the period. 93.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Needham & Company LLC boosted their price target on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $103.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 25th. Canaccord Genuity Group assumed coverage on Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday, April 20th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $110.00 target price for the company. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $73.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $111.00 price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $100.90.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

IONS stock opened at $73.84 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.75, a current ratio of 4.10 and a quick ratio of 4.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.20 billion, a P/E ratio of -35.67 and a beta of 0.38. The business's 50-day moving average is $74.17 and its two-hundred day moving average is $77.58. Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 1 year low of $32.00 and a 1 year high of $86.74.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported ($0.56) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.85) by $0.29. The company had revenue of $246.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $195.57 million. Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 58.65% and a negative net margin of 30.91%.Ionis Pharmaceuticals's revenue for the quarter was up 86.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($0.93) EPS. Analysts anticipate that Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -3.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Elizabeth L. Hougen sold 215,048 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.40, for a total value of $15,569,475.20. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 92,832 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,721,036.80. This represents a 69.85% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Kyle Jenne sold 37,277 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.85, for a total value of $2,827,460.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 11,714 shares in the company, valued at approximately $888,506.90. The trade was a 76.09% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 616,371 shares of company stock worth $46,406,452. 2.71% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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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