Nuveen Asset Management LLC Trims Holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS)

Nuveen Asset Management LLC decreased its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS - Free Report) by 96.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 290,954 shares of the company's stock after selling 9,013,825 shares during the quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC owned 0.18% of Ionis Pharmaceuticals worth $10,172,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Xponance Inc. increased its stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 19,339 shares of the company's stock worth $676,000 after acquiring an additional 318 shares during the last quarter. Amalgamated Bank increased its position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 10,292 shares of the company's stock valued at $360,000 after purchasing an additional 335 shares during the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. increased its position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 6.6% during the 4th quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 5,865 shares of the company's stock valued at $205,000 after purchasing an additional 363 shares during the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 1.7% during the 4th 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina increased its position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 68,803 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,405,000 after purchasing an additional 440 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.86% of the company's stock.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:IONS traded up $0.18 during trading on Friday, hitting $33.64. The stock had a trading volume of 1,654,650 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,568,891. Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 12-month low of $23.95 and a 12-month high of $52.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -11.07 and a beta of 0.15. 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 stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $30.61 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $32.85.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported ($0.93) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($1.07) by $0.14. The company had revenue of $132.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $144.31 million. Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 100.05% and a negative net margin of 64.25%. Ionis Pharmaceuticals's quarterly revenue was up 10.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned ($0.98) earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -3.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

IONS has been the topic of several analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $60.00 to $45.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $47.00 to $45.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Citigroup cut their target price on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $67.00 to $64.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $70.00 price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, HC Wainwright reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $50.00 price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $56.67.

Insider Activity 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 bought at an average cost of $31.86 per share, for a total transaction of $477,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 2.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Ionis Pharmaceuticals

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.