Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Invests $2.64 Million in Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. $IONS

Key Points

• Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired 33,300 Ionis Pharmaceuticals shares worth approximately $2.64 million in the second quarter. Institutional investors collectively own 93.86% of the company.
• Ionis exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting a loss of $0.69 per share versus the $1.08 consensus estimate and revenue of $267.95 million. However, revenue declined 40.7% year over year, and analysts expect a full-year loss of $3.57 per share.
• The stock opened at $61.05, below its 50-day and 200-day moving averages, while analysts maintain a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating with a $94.15 target price. Company insiders sold approximately $17.7 million of stock over the past three months.

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a new stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 33,300 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,640,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of IONS. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. purchased a new position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the first quarter valued at $30,000. Quarry LP purchased a new position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth about $38,000. Allworth Financial LP bought a new position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter worth about $41,000. Finally, Silvant Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter valued at about $43,000. Institutional investors own 93.86% of the company's stock.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ IONS opened at $61.05 on Monday. The firm's fifty day moving average is $63.05 and its 200 day moving average is $71.29. Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 52 week low of $42.13 and a 52 week 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 market cap of $10.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -17.64 and a beta of 0.41.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported ($0.69) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($1.08) by $0.39. The business had revenue of $267.95 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $189.10 million. Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 64.76% and a negative return on equity of 111.08%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 40.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.70 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -3.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Eugene Schneider sold 26,000 shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Friday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.05, for a total value of $2,107,300.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 77,114 shares in the company, valued at $6,250,089.70. The trade was a 25.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Holly B. Kordasiewicz sold 362 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.30, for a total transaction of $30,516.60. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 22,096 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,862,692.80. The trade was a 1.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 225,163 shares of company stock valued at $17,711,191 over the last three months. Insiders own 1.81% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Raymond James Financial set a $87.00 price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. They set a "market perform" rating and a $60.00 target price for the company. Guggenheim cut their price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $106.00 to $89.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Wolfe Research reissued a "peer perform" rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $110.00 to $95.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Seventeen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $94.15.

About Ionis Pharmaceuticals

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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