Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. $IONS Shares Sold by Aberdeen Group plc

Key Points

• Aberdeen Group plc trimmed its stake in Ionis by 67.1% during Q4, selling 58,998 shares and retaining 28,926 shares worth about $2.29 million at period end.
• Company insiders have been significant net sellers — two EVPs sold large blocks in March/April and insiders disposed of 974,413 shares (~$75.33 million) over the past 90 days, leaving insider ownership at 2.60%.
• IONS trades in the mid‑$70s (opened $76.43), has a market cap of $12.63 billion, and carries an average analyst rating of "Moderate Buy" with a consensus target price of $93.58.

Aberdeen Group plc trimmed its holdings in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS - Free Report) by 67.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 28,926 shares of the company's stock after selling 58,998 shares during the period. Aberdeen Group plc's holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals were worth $2,288,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Golden State Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 198.4% during the third quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 376 shares of the company's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the period. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Mather Group LLC. purchased a new stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, Johnson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter valued at approximately $44,000. 93.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ionis Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Shannon L. Devers sold 6,193 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.05, for a total value of $458,591.65. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 16,348 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,210,569.40. This represents a 27.47% decrease in their position. The sale 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, EVP Elizabeth L. Hougen sold 10,172 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.21, for a total transaction of $744,692.12. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 82,660 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,051,538.60. The trade was a 10.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 974,413 shares of company stock valued at $75,333,995. Corporate insiders own 2.60% of the company's stock.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

IONS stock opened at $76.43 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $12.63 billion, a P/E ratio of -31.32 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $77.86 and a 200 day simple moving average of $76.40. Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $25.74 and a fifty-two week high of $86.74. The company has a quick ratio of 3.81, a current ratio of 3.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.76.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 25th. The company reported ($1.41) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($1.23) by ($0.18). The company had revenue of $203.33 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $156.07 million. Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 68.82% and a negative net margin of 40.36%.The business's revenue for the quarter was down 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned ($0.66) EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -3.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on IONS. Leerink Partners lifted 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 lifted their price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $103.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 25th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $95.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, March 26th. Morgan Stanley set a $95.00 price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $93.58.

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.