Eventide Asset Management LLC Takes $45.49 Million Position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. $IONS

Key Points

• Eventide Asset Management opened a new position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals, buying 575,000 shares worth about $45.5 million in the fourth quarter. The stake represents roughly 0.36% of the company.
• Ionis reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of -$0.56 versus estimates of -$0.85 and revenue of $246.1 million, up 86.4% year over year. Even so, the company remains unprofitable, and analysts expect a full-year loss.
• Analyst sentiment is still mostly positive, with several firms maintaining or raising buy ratings and a consensus price target of $100.90. However, recent insider selling totaled 256,100 shares over the last three months.

Eventide Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 575,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $45,488,000. Eventide Asset Management LLC owned approximately 0.36% of Ionis Pharmaceuticals as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. bought a new stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Finally, Johnson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Institutional investors own 93.86% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ionis Pharmaceuticals

In related news, EVP Kyle Jenne sold 4,902 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.17, for a total transaction of $368,483.34. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 23,713 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,782,506.21. This represents a 17.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, EVP Shannon L. Devers sold 6,193 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.05, for a total value of $458,591.65. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 16,348 shares in the company, valued at $1,210,569.40. This trade represents a 27.47% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 256,100 shares of company stock worth $18,613,444 in the last three months. 1.81% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on IONS shares. TD Cowen cut their target price on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $110.00 to $108.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Needham & Company LLC lifted their target price on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $103.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 25th. Bank of America lifted their target price on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $100.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Leerink Partners lifted their target price on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $102.00 to $104.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $100.90.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of NASDAQ IONS opened at $73.28 on Friday. Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a one year low of $34.78 and a one year high of $86.74. 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 business's fifty day moving average price is $74.94 and its 200-day moving average price is $77.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.11 billion, a PE ratio of -35.40 and a beta of 0.37.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported ($0.56) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.85) by $0.29. The firm had revenue of $246.09 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $195.57 million. Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 58.65% and a negative net margin of 30.91%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 86.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.93) EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -3.64 EPS for the current year.

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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