Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. $IONS Stock Position Boosted by California State Teachers Retirement System

Key Points

• California State Teachers Retirement System increased its Ionis Pharmaceuticals stake by 22.4% in the first quarter, bringing its holdings to 176,485 shares valued at approximately $13.3 million. Institutional investors collectively own 93.86% of the company.
• Ionis has a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating from analysts, with 18 Buy, three Hold and one Sell rating and an average price target of $94.85, although several firms recently lowered their targets.
• The stock opened at $51.77, well below its 52-week high of $86.74. Recent developments included stronger-than-expected quarterly results and insider buying, offset by substantial insider selling and an announced investor investigation.

California State Teachers Retirement System raised its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS - Free Report) by 22.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 176,485 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 32,312 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System owned approximately 0.11% of Ionis Pharmaceuticals worth $13,252,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Grandfield & Dodd LLC increased its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Grandfield & Dodd LLC now owns 37,821 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,992,000 after acquiring an additional 146 shares during the period. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC raised its holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 3.7% during the first quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 4,429 shares of the company's stock worth $333,000 after purchasing an additional 157 shares in the last quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc lifted its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 4,759 shares of the company's stock worth $376,000 after purchasing an additional 178 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 9,674 shares of the company's stock worth $765,000 after purchasing an additional 246 shares during the period. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio boosted its stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 48,545 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,176,000 after purchasing an additional 301 shares in the last quarter. 93.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Trending Headlines about Ionis Pharmaceuticals

Here are the key news stories impacting Ionis Pharmaceuticals this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Ionis beat Wall Street’s second-quarter revenue and earnings expectations, helped by commercial growth despite difficult year-over-year comparisons. Management also reaffirmed its 2026 outlook, supporting confidence in the company’s operating trajectory. Zacks Q2 earnings report
• Positive Sentiment: Director Michael R. Hayden bought 15,000 shares for approximately $800,700 on July 30 and another 5,000 shares for $258,000 on July 31. The purchases materially increased his ownership and may be viewed as a signal of confidence in Ionis’s valuation and prospects. SEC insider-trading filing
• Neutral Sentiment: Wells Fargo lowered its price target from $100 to $95 while maintaining an “overweight” rating. The reduced target reflects more cautious valuation expectations, but the rating remains bullish. Benzinga analyst report
• Neutral Sentiment: HC Wainwright cut its target from $125 to $115 but retained a “buy” rating, similarly indicating lower near-term valuation expectations while maintaining a positive view of the stock. StreetInsider analyst report
• Negative Sentiment: Pomerantz LLP announced an investigation into potential claims on behalf of Ionis investors. Although the announcement does not establish wrongdoing, it adds legal and reputational uncertainty and may weigh on sentiment. Pomerantz investor alert

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on IONS shares. Leerink Partners lifted their price target on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $122.00 to $129.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. Wall Street Zen cut Ionis Pharmaceuticals from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, July 17th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $108.00 target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday, June 15th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $100.00 to $85.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Eighteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ionis Pharmaceuticals currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $94.85.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

NASDAQ IONS opened at $51.77 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.60 billion, a P/E ratio of -14.96 and a beta of 0.41. Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 1 year low of $40.03 and a 1 year high of $86.74. The business's fifty day moving average is $69.55 and its two-hundred day moving average is $74.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.07, a quick ratio of 7.73 and a current ratio of 7.89.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ionis Pharmaceuticals

In related news, EVP Holly B. Kordasiewicz sold 362 shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.30, for a total value of $30,516.60. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 22,096 shares in the company, valued at $1,862,692.80. The trade was a 1.61% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Allene M. Diaz sold 10,111 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.42, for a total value of $863,681.62. Following the sale, the director directly owned 3,811 shares in the company, valued at $325,535.62. This trade represents a 72.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 quarter, insiders sold 233,163 shares of company stock worth $18,316,551. 1.81% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.

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