California State Teachers Retirement System Grows Position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS)

California State Teachers Retirement System raised its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS - Free Report) by 6.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 133,902 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 7,722 shares during the quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System owned 0.08% of Ionis Pharmaceuticals worth $4,681,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Signaturefd LLC boosted its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 160.0% during the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 949 shares of the company's stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 584 shares during the last quarter. Huntington National Bank lifted its position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 193.5% in the fourth quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 951 shares of the company's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 627 shares in the last quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 183.8% in the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 1,036 shares of the company's stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 671 shares in the last quarter. Raiffeisen Bank International AG acquired a new position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth $62,000. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at $107,000. 93.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

IONS stock traded up $0.17 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $35.28. 473,512 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,656,816. Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 52 week low of $23.95 and a 52 week high of $52.34. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $30.80 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $32.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.12, a quick ratio of 8.82 and a current ratio of 8.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.61 billion, a PE ratio of -11.61 and a beta of 0.15.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported ($0.93) earnings per share 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 quarter in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.98) EPS. Ionis Pharmaceuticals's revenue was up 10.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -3.5 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on IONS shares. HC Wainwright reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $50.00 price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $60.00 to $45.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Guggenheim reduced their target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $65.00 to $64.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Needham & Company LLC lowered their price objective on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $60.00 to $55.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $70.00 price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $56.67.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ionis Pharmaceuticals

In other Ionis Pharmaceuticals news, Director Michael R. Hayden purchased 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 1st. The stock was bought at an average cost of $31.86 per share, with a total value of $477,900.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 50,219 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,599,977.34. The trade was a 42.59% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 2.60% of the company's stock.

About Ionis Pharmaceuticals

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.