Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. Invests $9.62 Million in Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. $IONS

Key Points

• Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. bought a new stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter, purchasing 121,628 shares worth about $9.62 million.
• Ionis Pharmaceuticals has attracted heavy institutional interest, with institutions owning 93.86% of the stock and several funds recently increasing their positions. Meanwhile, insiders sold a total of 616,371 shares over the last three months.
• Analysts remain broadly positive on IONS, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $100.90. The company also beat quarterly expectations, reporting revenue of $246 million and EPS of -$0.56, better than expected.

Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. purchased a new stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 121,628 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,622,000. Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. owned approximately 0.08% of Ionis Pharmaceuticals as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 66.1% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 862,593 shares of the company's stock valued at $56,431,000 after acquiring an additional 343,409 shares in the last quarter. Dynasty Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter valued at about $938,000. Jain Global LLC increased its stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 3,037.4% in the 3rd quarter. Jain Global LLC now owns 225,739 shares of the company's stock valued at $14,768,000 after buying an additional 218,544 shares during the last quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC increased its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 248.3% during the 4th quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 217,897 shares of the company's stock worth $17,238,000 after purchasing an additional 155,334 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ increased its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 161.3% during the 3rd quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ now owns 155,790 shares of the company's stock worth $10,192,000 after purchasing an additional 96,164 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.86% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on IONS shares. Leerink Partners raised their price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $102.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. Needham & Company LLC raised their price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $103.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 25th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $100.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $100.90.

Insider Activity at Ionis Pharmaceuticals

In other news, EVP Eugene Schneider sold 5,812 shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.97, for a total transaction of $412,477.64. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 63,890 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,534,273.30. The trade was a 8.34% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Kyle Jenne sold 4,902 shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on 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 directly owned 23,713 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,782,506.21. This represents a 17.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders sold a total of 616,371 shares of company stock worth $46,406,452 in the last three months. 2.71% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

NASDAQ IONS opened at $73.84 on Wednesday. Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 52-week low of $32.00 and a 52-week high of $86.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.75, a quick ratio of 4.09 and a current ratio of 4.10. The company has a market capitalization of $12.20 billion, a P/E ratio of -35.67 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a fifty day moving average of $74.17 and a 200-day moving average of $77.58.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported ($0.56) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.85) by $0.29. Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 30.91% and a negative return on equity of 58.65%. The company had revenue of $246.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $195.57 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.93) EPS. The firm's revenue was up 86.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -3.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals 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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