D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. Sells 121,968 Shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS)

D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. lowered its holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS - Free Report) by 84.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 23,123 shares of the company's stock after selling 121,968 shares during the period. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc.'s holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals were worth $808,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Signaturefd LLC raised its position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 160.0% in the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 949 shares of the company's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 584 shares during the period. Huntington National Bank raised 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 valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 627 shares during the period. Lindbrook Capital LLC raised 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 valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 671 shares during the period. Venturi Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $107,000. Finally, Vontobel Holding Ltd. grew its stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 6.6% during the fourth quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 5,865 shares of the company's stock valued at $205,000 after acquiring an additional 363 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.86% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Ionis Pharmaceuticals

In other Ionis Pharmaceuticals news, Director Michael R. Hayden acquired 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 1st. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $31.86 per share, for a total transaction of $477,900.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 50,219 shares in the company, valued at $1,599,977.34. The trade was a 42.59% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 2.60% of the company's stock.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 2.7%

Shares of IONS traded up $0.86 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $33.29. The company's stock had a trading volume of 823,985 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,558,781. The stock has a market cap of $5.30 billion, a PE ratio of -10.95 and a beta of 0.15. The company has a current ratio of 8.47, a quick ratio of 8.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.12. Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 52 week low of $23.95 and a 52 week high of $52.34. The company's fifty day moving average price is $30.58 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $32.95.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of $132.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $144.31 million. Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 64.25% and a negative return on equity of 100.05%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 10.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted ($0.98) EPS. On average, analysts predict that Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -3.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

IONS has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $70.00 price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $67.00 to $64.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $47.00 to $45.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals to a "sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reduced their price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $60.00 to $55.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $56.67.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

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.