California State Teachers Retirement System Boosts Holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. $IONS

Key Points

• California State Teachers Retirement System increased its Ionis Pharmaceuticals stake by 8,029.6% in the second quarter, owning 14.35 million shares worth approximately $1.14 billion, or 8.63% of the company. Institutional investors collectively own 93.86% of IONS.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with 17 Buy, four Hold and one Sell rating, producing a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average target price of $91.25. Several firms recently lowered their price targets while retaining Buy or Outperform ratings.
• Ionis shares opened at $54.21, near the lower end of their 52-week range of $50.01 to $86.74. Recent insider activity was mixed: a director bought 15,000 shares, while insiders sold 164,317 shares worth $13.2 million during the last quarter.

California State Teachers Retirement System grew its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS - Free Report) by 8,029.6% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14,347,446 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 14,170,961 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System owned approximately 8.63% of Ionis Pharmaceuticals worth $1,137,609,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of IONS. Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 79.1% during the second quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 383,211 shares of the company's stock worth $30,385,000 after acquiring an additional 169,300 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 318.1% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 103,141 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,745,000 after purchasing an additional 78,470 shares in the last quarter. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter valued at approximately $48,690,000. Eagle Health Investments LP purchased a new position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter valued at approximately $15,428,000. Finally, Perceptive Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the 1st quarter worth approximately $37,845,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.86% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. TD Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday. Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their target price on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $95.00 to $85.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, September 8th. Guggenheim cut their target price on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $106.00 to $89.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their target price on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $100.00 to $85.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Finally, HC Wainwright reduced their price target on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $115.00 to $100.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, September 8th. Seventeen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ionis Pharmaceuticals currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $91.25.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ IONS opened at $54.21 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $9.01 billion, a P/E ratio of -15.67 and a beta of 0.42. Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a twelve month low of $50.01 and a twelve month high of $86.74. The company has a quick ratio of 7.73, a current ratio of 7.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.07. The company has a 50 day moving average of $58.81 and a 200 day moving average of $69.65.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ionis Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Eric Swayze sold 10,602 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.18, for a total transaction of $839,466.36. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 21,759 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,722,877.62. This represents a 32.76% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Michael Hayden purchased 15,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 30th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $53.38 per share, for a total transaction of $800,700.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 19,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,014,220. The trade was a 375.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 164,317 shares of company stock worth $13,244,486 in the last quarter. Insiders own 1.81% of the company's stock.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc is a biotechnology company that discovers and develops medicines using antisense technology, which is designed to target RNA and influence the production of disease-related proteins. The company focuses on neurological, cardiovascular, metabolic and other serious diseases for which there remains a significant unmet medical need.

Ionis has developed several approved therapies, including SPINRAZA (nusinersen) for spinal muscular atrophy, QALSODY (tofersen) for a form of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, TEGSEDI (inotersen) for hereditary transthyretin-mediated amyloidosis and WAYLIVRA (volanesorsen) for familial chylomicronemia syndrome in certain markets.

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