TD Asset Management Inc Grows Position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS)

Key Points

• TD Asset Management Inc increased its stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 4.8%, owning 1,100,466 shares valued at $33.2 million after acquiring an additional 50,476 shares.
• Ionis Pharmaceuticals reported a quarterly EPS of ($0.93), exceeding analysts' estimates, with a revenue of $132 million, which was below the consensus estimate of $144.31 million.
• The average analyst rating for Ionis Pharmaceuticals is a "Moderate Buy", with a consensus price target of $55.67.

TD Asset Management Inc raised its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS - Free Report) by 4.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,100,466 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 50,476 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc owned 0.69% of Ionis Pharmaceuticals worth $33,201,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 21,826 shares of the company's stock valued at $763,000 after acquiring an additional 373 shares in the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,021,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 9.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 16,472,539 shares of the company's stock worth $575,880,000 after purchasing an additional 1,416,781 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter worth $59,948,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 31.0% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 13,301 shares of the company's stock worth $465,000 after acquiring an additional 3,146 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.86% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $45.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, June 12th. Morgan Stanley raised Ionis Pharmaceuticals from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $55.00 to $62.00 in a report on Thursday. Guggenheim cut their price objective on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $65.00 to $64.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Needham & Company LLC decreased their price objective on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $60.00 to $55.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Barclays upgraded Ionis Pharmaceuticals from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $51.00 to $57.00 in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ionis Pharmaceuticals currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $57.79.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 0.3%

IONS traded up $0.13 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $43.11. 1,079,631 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,725,417. Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 1-year low of $23.95 and a 1-year high of $50.43. The stock's 50-day moving average is $38.87 and its two-hundred day moving average is $34.05. The stock has a market cap of $6.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -23.44 and a beta of 0.23. The company has a quick ratio of 9.62, a current ratio of 9.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.63.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $0.70 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.19 by $0.51. The business had revenue of $452.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $270.90 million. Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 28.25% and a negative return on equity of 46.39%. Ionis Pharmaceuticals's revenue for the quarter was up 100.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($0.45) earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -3.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Brett P. Monia sold 1,160 shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Friday, July 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.74, for a total value of $48,418.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 179,820 shares in the company, valued at $7,505,686.80. The trade was a 0.64% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 2.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Ionis Pharmaceuticals

Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc discovers and develops RNA-targeted therapeutics in the United States. The company offers SPINRAZA for spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) in pediatric and adult patients; TEGSEDI, an antisense injection for the treatment of polyneuropathy caused by hereditary transthyretin amyloidosis in adults; and WAYLIVRA, an antisense medicine for treatment for familial chylomicronemia syndrome (FCS) and familial partial lipodystrophy.