Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) Shares Sold by ARK Investment Management LLC

Key Points

• ARK Investment Management LLC reduced its stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 2.4%, owning 1,000,527 shares valued at approximately $30 million after selling 24,733 shares.
• Ionis Pharmaceuticals reported earnings of ($0.93) per share for the quarter, beating analysts' estimates, with revenue of $132 million despite being below expectations.
• Insider trading activity included a purchase of 15,000 shares by Director Michael R. Hayden, representing a 42.59% increase in his position, while CEO Brett P. Monia sold 1,160 shares in a recent transaction.

ARK Investment Management LLC cut its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS - Free Report) by 2.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,000,527 shares of the company's stock after selling 24,733 shares during the period. ARK Investment Management LLC owned approximately 0.63% of Ionis Pharmaceuticals worth $30,186,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 21,826 shares of the company's stock valued at $763,000 after purchasing an additional 373 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 18.7% in the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,435 shares of the company's stock valued at $73,000 after purchasing an additional 384 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC raised its holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 45.6% during the first quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,382 shares of the company's stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 433 shares in the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina raised its holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 68,803 shares of the company's stock worth $2,405,000 after acquiring an additional 440 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp raised its stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 4.8% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 9,989 shares of the company's stock valued at $301,000 after buying an additional 458 shares during the period. 93.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 5.1%

NASDAQ:IONS traded up $2.13 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $43.61. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,043,932 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,702,804. The company has a market capitalization of $6.94 billion, a P/E ratio of -14.54 and a beta of 0.23. Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 12 month low of $23.95 and a 12 month high of $51.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.63, a quick ratio of 9.62 and a current ratio of 9.66. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $38.34 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $33.88.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $0.70 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.19 by $0.51. The company 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 63.65% and a negative return on equity of 91.85%. The firm's revenue was up 100.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($0.45) earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -3.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Ionis Pharmaceuticals

In related news, Director Michael R. Hayden purchased 15,000 shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 1st. The stock was purchased at an average price of $31.86 per share, for a total transaction of $477,900.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 50,219 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,599,977.34. This trade represents a 42.59% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Brett P. Monia sold 1,160 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.74, for a total transaction of $48,418.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 179,820 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,505,686.80. This trade represents a 0.64% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 2.71% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on IONS shares. Needham & Company LLC lowered their target price on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $60.00 to $55.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. 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 research report on Thursday, June 12th. Guggenheim reduced their price target on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $65.00 to $64.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Barclays raised Ionis Pharmaceuticals from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $51.00 to $57.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. Finally, HC Wainwright reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $50.00 target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $55.67.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Profile

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.