Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Raises Stock Position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. $IONS

Key Points

• Pictet Asset Management increased its stake in Ionis by 1.8% to 1,418,491 shares, representing about 0.88% of the company and worth roughly $112.48 million.
• Ionis missed Q4 EPS (‑$1.41 vs. ‑$1.23 est.) but beat revenue ($203.33M vs. $156.07M), with revenue down 10.6% year‑over‑year and negative net margin and ROE.
• Company insiders sold a total of 864,155 shares (~$67.0M) over the past 90 days, even as analysts largely rate the stock a "Moderate Buy" with a consensus price target of $97.35 (some firms target as high as $130).

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA raised its stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS - Free Report) by 1.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,418,491 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 25,367 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA owned approximately 0.88% of Ionis Pharmaceuticals worth $112,476,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. CWM LLC increased its holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 7.3% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,488 shares of the company's stock valued at $163,000 after buying an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital increased its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 5,536 shares of the company's stock worth $460,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares in the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 198.4% during the 3rd quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 376 shares of the company's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio increased its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 48,545 shares of the company's stock worth $3,176,000 after purchasing an additional 301 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. 93.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 1.4%

Shares of IONS opened at $72.23 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $11.93 billion, a PE ratio of -29.60 and a beta of 0.40. The company's fifty day moving average is $75.80 and its two-hundred day moving average is $77.28. Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $29.42 and a fifty-two week high of $86.74. The company has a quick ratio of 3.81, a current ratio of 3.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.76.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The company reported ($1.41) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($1.23) by ($0.18). The company had revenue of $203.33 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 for the quarter was down 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned ($0.66) EPS. Analysts forecast that Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -4.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on IONS. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $82.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $95.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. HC Wainwright raised their target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 25th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $95.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. One equities research 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 company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $97.35.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ionis Pharmaceuticals news, EVP C Frank Bennett sold 85,089 shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.93, for a total value of $7,056,430.77. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 80,293 shares in the company, valued at $6,658,698.49. This trade represents a 51.45% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Kyle Jenne sold 37,277 shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.85, for a total transaction of $2,827,460.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 11,714 shares in the company, valued at approximately $888,506.90. This trade represents a 76.09% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 864,155 shares of company stock worth $67,020,422 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 2.60% of the company's stock.

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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