Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. $IONS Shares Acquired by Algert Global LLC

Key Points

• Algert Global increased its Ionis Pharmaceuticals stake by 77.5% in the second quarter, acquiring 90,290 additional shares for a total of 206,853 shares valued at approximately $16.4 million. Institutional investors collectively own 93.86% of IONS.
• Ionis reported quarterly revenue of $267.95 million and an adjusted loss of $0.69 per share, beating analyst expectations, though revenue declined 40.7% year over year and the company remained unprofitable.
• IONS opened at $62.04, while analysts maintained a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating with a $94.15 price target. Insider activity was mixed: a director bought 15,000 shares, while executives sold shares worth roughly $18.3 million over the past 90 days.

Algert Global LLC lifted its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS - Free Report) by 77.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 206,853 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 90,290 shares during the quarter. Algert Global LLC owned about 0.12% of Ionis Pharmaceuticals worth $16,401,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of IONS. Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 79.1% in the second quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 383,211 shares of the company's stock worth $30,385,000 after acquiring an additional 169,300 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 318.1% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 103,141 shares of the company's stock worth $7,745,000 after purchasing an additional 78,470 shares during the last quarter. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter valued at $48,690,000. Eagle Health Investments LP acquired a new position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter valued at $15,428,000. Finally, Perceptive Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the first quarter valued at $37,845,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.86% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Michael R. Hayden purchased 15,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 30th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $53.38 per share, with a total value of $800,700.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 19,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,014,220. The trade was a 375.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Holly B. Kordasiewicz sold 60,846 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.41, for a total transaction of $4,466,704.86. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 22,458 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,648,641.78. The trade was a 73.04% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 233,163 shares of company stock worth $18,316,551. Insiders own 1.81% of the company's stock.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 3.9%

IONS stock opened at $62.04 on Tuesday. Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a one year low of $41.71 and a one year high of $86.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.07, a quick ratio of 7.73 and a current ratio of 7.89. The firm's fifty day moving average is $63.96 and its 200 day moving average is $71.92. The firm has a market cap of $10.31 billion, a PE ratio of -17.93 and a beta of 0.41.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on IONS shares. Wolfe Research reaffirmed a "peer perform" rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Guggenheim decreased their price objective on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $106.00 to $89.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Oppenheimer reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $111.00 price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Wall Street Zen lowered Ionis Pharmaceuticals from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, August 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $113.00 to $90.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Seventeen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $94.15.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding IONS? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

Continue following MarketBeat

Add MarketBeat as your preferred source on Google to see our latest stories in your feed.

Add As Preferred Source