Franklin Resources Inc. Has $104.53 Million Stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. $IONS

Key Points

• Franklin Resources dramatically increased its Ionis Pharmaceuticals stake by 19,941.6% in the fourth quarter, ending with 1.32 million shares worth about $104.5 million.
• Insider selling has continued at Ionis, with directors B. Lynne Parshall and Spencer R. Berthelsen among those selling shares; insiders have sold 256,100 shares worth $18.6 million over the last three months.
• Ionis beat earnings and revenue estimates in its latest quarter, reporting an EPS loss of $0.56 versus expectations of $0.85 loss and revenue of $246.09 million, while analysts maintain a Moderate Buy consensus with an average price target of $100.90.

Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS - Free Report) by 19,941.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,321,345 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 1,314,752 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned 0.82% of Ionis Pharmaceuticals worth $104,532,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Quarry LP bought a new stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth $38,000. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth $47,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth $47,000. Johnson Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth $44,000. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth $52,000. Institutional investors own 93.86% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Ionis Pharmaceuticals

In other news, Director B Lynne Parshall sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.27, for a total transaction of $381,350.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 51,344 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,916,006.88. This represents a 8.87% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Spencer R. Berthelsen sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.67, for a total value of $605,360.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 156,013 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,805,503.71. The trade was a 4.88% decrease in their position. 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 256,100 shares of company stock worth $18,613,444 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.81% of the company's stock.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 1.7%

IONS stock opened at $73.32 on Thursday. 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 $12.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -35.42 and a beta of 0.37. Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $34.78 and a fifty-two week high of $86.74. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $75.00 and a 200-day moving average of $77.82.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Raymond James Financial assumed coverage on Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, April 10th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $104.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $95.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Citigroup assumed coverage on Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday, May 18th. They set a "buy" rating and a $115.00 price target for the company. Finally, Bank of America upped their price target on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $100.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $100.90.

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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