M&T Bank Corp Buys 82,500 Shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. $IONS

Key Points

• M&T Bank Corp increased its stake in Ionis by 1,372.7% in Q4, buying an additional 82,500 shares to hold 88,510 shares valued at about $7.0 million (0.05% of the company) per its 13F filing.
• Insiders have been selling heavily: the EVP and CEO sold large blocks in March, and insiders disposed of 864,155 shares worth $67.02 million in the last 90 days, leaving insiders with just 2.60% ownership.
• Wall Street sentiment is mostly positive with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $97.35 amid several recent price-target upgrades from major firms.

M&T Bank Corp lifted its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS - Free Report) by 1,372.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 88,510 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 82,500 shares during the quarter. M&T Bank Corp owned 0.05% of Ionis Pharmaceuticals worth $7,002,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. CWM LLC lifted its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 7.3% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,488 shares of the company's stock worth $163,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares during the period. Wedmont Private Capital increased its holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 5,536 shares of the company's stock valued at $460,000 after buying an additional 173 shares during the period. Golden State Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 198.4% in the 3rd quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 376 shares of the company's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio raised its position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 0.6% in 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 buying an additional 301 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.86% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on IONS shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $82.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Leerink Partners upped their target price on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $102.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. Needham & Company LLC raised their target price on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $103.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 25th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $73.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, February 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $97.35.

Insider Transactions at Ionis Pharmaceuticals

In other news, EVP Elizabeth L. Hougen sold 215,048 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.40, for a total value of $15,569,475.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 92,832 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,721,036.80. This represents a 69.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Brett P. Monia sold 126,670 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.20, for a total transaction of $9,525,584.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 242,662 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $18,248,182.40. This trade represents a 34.30% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 864,155 shares of company stock valued at $67,020,422. 2.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:IONS opened at $73.27 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $12.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -30.03 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.76, a current ratio of 3.83 and a quick ratio of 3.81. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $75.97 and a 200 day simple moving average of $77.22. Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a one year low of $28.87 and a one year high of $86.74.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The company reported ($1.41) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($1.23) by ($0.18). The firm had revenue of $203.33 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $156.07 million. Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 40.36% and a negative return on equity of 68.82%. The firm's revenue was down 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($0.66) earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -4.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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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