North Star Asset Management Inc. Takes $1.31 Million Position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. $IONS

Key Points

• North Star Asset Management initiated a $1.31 million position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by purchasing 16,560 shares during the second quarter. Institutional investors collectively own 93.86% of the company.
• Ionis shares opened at $61.05, down 2.2%, and remain below their 50-day and 200-day moving averages. The company reported a quarterly loss of $0.69 per share but exceeded revenue expectations, generating $267.95 million.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with 17 Buy ratings, four Holds and one Sell, producing a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $94.15.

North Star Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 16,560 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,313,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Capital World Investors boosted its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 41.2% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 17,961,299 shares of the company's stock worth $1,420,918,000 after purchasing an additional 5,238,571 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,148,849 shares of the company's stock valued at $249,158,000 after purchasing an additional 82,560 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 9.5% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,987,840 shares of the company's stock valued at $236,370,000 after purchasing an additional 258,155 shares in the last quarter. Baker BROS. Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 216.1% in the 4th quarter. Baker BROS. Advisors LP now owns 1,791,841 shares of the company's stock valued at $141,753,000 after purchasing an additional 1,225,043 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,541,841 shares of the company's stock worth $121,975,000 after buying an additional 21,890 shares in the last quarter. 93.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 2.2%

Shares of NASDAQ IONS opened at $61.05 on Friday. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $63.05 and its 200-day simple moving average is $71.38. Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 52-week low of $42.13 and a 52-week high of $86.74. The firm has a market cap of $10.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -17.64 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a quick ratio of 7.73, a current ratio of 7.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.07.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported ($0.69) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($1.08) by $0.39. Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 64.76% and a negative return on equity of 111.08%. The firm had revenue of $267.95 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $189.10 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.70 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 40.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -3.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on IONS. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, July 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $72.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $113.00 to $90.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. HC Wainwright reduced their price target on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Leerink Partners raised their price objective on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $122.00 to $129.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, June 25th. Seventeen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ionis Pharmaceuticals has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $94.15.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Michael R. Hayden acquired 15,000 shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 30th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $53.38 per share, with a total value of $800,700.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 19,000 shares in the company, valued at $1,014,220. This trade represents a 375.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP C Frank Bennett sold 15,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.46, for a total value of $1,281,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 75,018 shares in the company, valued at $6,411,038.28. The trade was a 16.66% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 233,163 shares of company stock valued at $18,316,551. 1.81% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals 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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