Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. $IONS Shares Acquired by Alyeska Investment Group L.P.

Key Points

• Alyeska Investment Group increased its Ionis Pharmaceuticals stake by 199.7% in the second quarter, acquiring 944,766 additional shares and bringing its holdings to 1.42 million shares worth approximately $112.4 million.
• Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.86% of Ionis, while insiders sold 233,163 shares valued at $18.3 million during the latest quarter, including significant sales by two executive vice presidents.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and $94.15 price target. Ionis recently beat quarterly EPS and revenue expectations, though revenue fell 40.7% year over year and the stock opened at $61.05.

Alyeska Investment Group L.P. grew its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS - Free Report) by 199.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,417,916 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 944,766 shares during the quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. owned about 0.85% of Ionis Pharmaceuticals worth $112,427,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. purchased a new stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the first quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Allworth Financial LP acquired a new stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Finally, Silvant Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter worth approximately $43,000. 93.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other Ionis Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Holly B. Kordasiewicz sold 60,846 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.41, for a total transaction of $4,466,704.86. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 22,458 shares in the company, valued at $1,648,641.78. This represents a 73.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Eugene Schneider sold 26,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.05, for a total transaction of $2,107,300.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 77,114 shares in the company, valued at $6,250,089.70. This represents a 25.21% 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 233,163 shares of company stock worth $18,316,551 in the last quarter. Insiders own 1.81% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

IONS has been the topic of several recent research reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Raymond James Financial set a $87.00 target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $110.00 to $95.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 10th. Leerink Partners increased their price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $122.00 to $129.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $113.00 to $90.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Seventeen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ionis Pharmaceuticals has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $94.15.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of IONS stock opened at $61.05 on Friday. 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 has a market cap of $10.15 billion, a P/E ratio of -17.64 and a beta of 0.41. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $63.05 and its 200-day moving average price is $71.38. Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a one year low of $42.13 and a one year high of $86.74.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported ($0.69) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($1.08) by $0.39. Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 64.76% and a negative return on equity of 111.08%. The firm had revenue of $267.95 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $189.10 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.70 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 40.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -3.57 EPS for the current 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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