Readystate Asset Management LP Lowers Stock Position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS)

Readystate Asset Management LP trimmed its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS - Free Report) by 99.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 46,394 shares of the company's stock after selling 11,953,606 shares during the quarter. Readystate Asset Management LP's holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals were worth $1,400,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of IONS. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 9.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 16,472,539 shares of the company's stock worth $575,880,000 after buying an additional 1,416,781 shares during the period. Capital World Investors increased its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 46.5% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 11,465,413 shares of the company's stock worth $400,831,000 after buying an additional 3,637,041 shares during the period. Orbimed Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 21.2% during the fourth quarter. Orbimed Advisors LLC now owns 2,817,347 shares of the company's stock worth $98,494,000 after buying an additional 492,900 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,687,248 shares of the company's stock worth $93,976,000 after buying an additional 18,890 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth approximately $59,948,000. 93.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

NASDAQ:IONS traded up $0.09 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $42.24. 887,852 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,810,999. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $38.20 and a 200-day simple moving average of $33.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.72 billion, a P/E ratio of -14.13 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, Inc. has a 1 year low of $23.95 and a 1 year high of $52.34.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported ($0.93) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($1.07) by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $132.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $144.31 million. Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 91.85% and a negative net margin of 63.65%. The firm's revenue was up 10.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned ($0.98) EPS. Analysts anticipate that Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -3.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on IONS. Needham & Company LLC decreased their target price on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $60.00 to $55.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Guggenheim decreased their target price 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. Barclays raised shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their target price for the company from $51.00 to $57.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $45.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 12th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic began coverage on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday, March 31st. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $39.00 target price on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ionis Pharmaceuticals has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $55.67.

Insider Activity at Ionis Pharmaceuticals

In related news, Director Michael R. Hayden acquired 15,000 shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 1st. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $31.86 per share, with a total value of $477,900.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 50,219 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,599,977.34. The trade was a 42.59% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Brett P. Monia sold 1,160 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 179,820 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,505,686.80. This represents a 0.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.