Millennium Management LLC Raises Holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS)

Millennium Management LLC lifted its stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS - Free Report) by 79.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 774,215 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 343,492 shares during the quarter. Millennium Management LLC owned about 0.49% of Ionis Pharmaceuticals worth $27,067,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 9.4% in 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 last quarter. Capital World Investors increased its position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 46.5% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 11,465,413 shares of the company's stock valued at $400,831,000 after acquiring an additional 3,637,041 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,687,248 shares of the company's stock worth $93,976,000 after acquiring an additional 18,890 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth about $59,948,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,481,440 shares of the company's stock worth $51,791,000 after acquiring an additional 38,420 shares during the period. 93.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on IONS. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $47.00 to $45.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Guggenheim reduced their price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $65.00 to $64.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. HC Wainwright upped their price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $60.00 to $45.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals to a "sell" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $56.67.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Patrick R. O'neil sold 1,207 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.35, for a total transaction of $39,046.45. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 56,245 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,819,525.75. The trade was a 2.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Michael R. Hayden acquired 15,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 1st. The stock was acquired at an average price of $31.86 per share, with a total value of $477,900.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 50,219 shares in the company, valued at $1,599,977.34. The trade was a 42.59% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 2,027 shares of company stock worth $62,863. 2.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 1.4%

IONS stock opened at $34.03 on Tuesday. Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 52 week low of $23.95 and a 52 week high of $52.34. The company has a quick ratio of 8.82, a current ratio of 8.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.12. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $30.57 and a 200-day simple moving average of $33.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.42 billion, a P/E ratio of -11.19 and a beta of 0.15.

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, topping the consensus estimate of ($1.07) by $0.14. Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 100.05% and a negative net margin of 64.25%. The company had revenue of $132.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $144.31 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned ($0.98) EPS. Ionis Pharmaceuticals's quarterly revenue was up 10.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -3.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.

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