Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. $IONS Shares Bought by Baker BROS. Advisors LP

Key Points

• Baker BROS. Advisors LP sharply increased its Ionis Pharmaceuticals stake by 216.1% in the fourth quarter, buying over 1.2 million additional shares and bringing its holding to 1.79 million shares worth about $141.8 million.
• Ionis reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of -$0.56 versus the -$0.85 consensus estimate and revenue of $246.1 million, up 86.4% from a year earlier.
• Wall Street remains constructive on the stock, with analysts assigning a Moderate Buy rating on average and an average price target of $101.80, while some insiders have recently sold shares under pre-arranged trading plans.

Baker BROS. Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS - Free Report) by 216.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,791,841 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 1,225,043 shares during the quarter. Ionis Pharmaceuticals accounts for approximately 0.8% of Baker BROS. Advisors LP's portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest holding. Baker BROS. Advisors LP owned 1.11% of Ionis Pharmaceuticals worth $141,753,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. acquired a new position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Quarry LP acquired a new position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth about $38,000. Johnson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth about $44,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Finally, Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $47,000. 93.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of IONS opened at $74.31 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 $12.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -35.90 and a beta of 0.37. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $74.89 and its 200 day simple moving average is $77.59. Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 1 year low of $36.11 and a 1 year high of $86.74.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on IONS. Oppenheimer reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $111.00 price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Raymond James Financial began coverage on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, April 10th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $104.00 price target on the stock. Needham & Company LLC increased their price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $103.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 25th. HC Wainwright reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $125.00 price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $87.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ionis Pharmaceuticals currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $101.80.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ionis Pharmaceuticals

In related news, Director B Lynne Parshall sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.27, for a total transaction of $381,350.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 51,344 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,916,006.88. This represents a 8.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Spencer R. Berthelsen sold 8,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.49, for a total transaction of $587,920.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 156,013 shares in the company, valued at $11,465,395.37. 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. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 93,914 shares of company stock valued at $6,941,424. 1.81% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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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