Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. $IONS Shares Sold by Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank

Key Points

• Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank cut its position in Ionis by 91% in Q4, selling 496,299 shares and leaving it with 48,921 shares valued at about $3.87 million.
• Insiders have disposed of significant stock recently—864,155 shares worth roughly $67.02 million in the past three months—including EVP Shannon Devers and EVP Eugene Schneider.
• Ionis beat revenue estimates ($203.3M vs. $156.1M) but missed EPS expectations, trades around $73, and carries a MarketBeat consensus of Moderate Buy with an average target of $97.35 (analyst targets range as high as $130).

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank decreased its stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS - Free Report) by 91.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 48,921 shares of the company's stock after selling 496,299 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank's holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals were worth $3,870,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of IONS. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 72.5% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 652,518 shares of the company's stock valued at $19,686,000 after buying an additional 274,310 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 6.4% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 659,435 shares of the company's stock worth $19,895,000 after purchasing an additional 39,794 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth boosted its stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 30.1% during the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 9,832 shares of the company's stock worth $297,000 after purchasing an additional 2,277 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. acquired a new stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter worth $220,000. Finally, Prudential Financial Inc. boosted its stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 47.8% during the 2nd quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 9,254 shares of the company's stock worth $341,000 after purchasing an additional 2,991 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.86% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Shannon L. Devers sold 6,193 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 owned 16,348 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,210,569.40. This trade represents a 27.47% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Eugene Schneider sold 5,812 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.97, for a total transaction of $412,477.64. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 63,890 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,534,273.30. This trade represents a 8.34% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders have sold 864,155 shares of company stock worth $67,020,422. 2.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

IONS has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. TD Cowen decreased their price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $110.00 to $108.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, February 28th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $82.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Leerink Partners increased 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $95.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $97.35.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 1.1%

Shares of NASDAQ:IONS opened at $73.27 on Friday. Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 1-year low of $28.87 and a 1-year high of $86.74. The stock has a market cap of $12.10 billion, a P/E ratio of -30.03 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.76, a current ratio of 3.83 and a quick ratio of 3.81. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $75.97 and a 200 day moving average price of $77.22.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The company reported ($1.41) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($1.23) by ($0.18). Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 68.82% and a negative net margin of 40.36%.The firm had revenue of $203.33 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $156.07 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($0.66) EPS. The firm's revenue was down 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -4.14 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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