Polar Capital Holdings Plc Has $105.49 Million Stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. $IONS

Key Points

• Polar Capital Holdings increased its Ionis Pharmaceuticals stake by 29% in the fourth quarter, bringing its position to 1,333,424 shares worth about $105.5 million.
• Ionis reported better-than-expected quarterly results, posting a smaller-than-expected loss of ($0.56) EPS on $246.09 million in revenue, with sales up 86.4% year over year.
• Analyst sentiment remains generally positive, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $100.90, even as the stock traded down 1.2% to $73.09.

Polar Capital Holdings Plc lifted its stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS - Free Report) by 29.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,333,424 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 299,802 shares during the quarter. Polar Capital Holdings Plc owned 0.82% of Ionis Pharmaceuticals worth $105,487,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Grandfield & Dodd LLC lifted its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Grandfield & Dodd LLC now owns 37,821 shares of the company's stock worth $2,992,000 after buying an additional 146 shares in the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital grew its holdings 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 valued at $460,000 after acquiring an additional 173 shares in the last quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc increased its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 4,759 shares of the company's stock worth $376,000 after acquiring an additional 178 shares during the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 9,674 shares of the company's stock worth $765,000 after acquiring an additional 246 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio raised its holdings in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 0.6% during the third quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 48,545 shares of the company's stock worth $3,176,000 after acquiring an additional 301 shares in the last quarter. 93.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Raymond James Financial began coverage on Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, April 10th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $104.00 price target on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $87.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $95.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Ionis Pharmaceuticals currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $100.90.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 1.2%

Shares of NASDAQ IONS opened at $73.09 on Wednesday. Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 1-year low of $34.84 and a 1-year high of $86.74. The company has a 50-day moving average of $74.89 and a two-hundred day moving average of $77.65. The company has a market cap of $12.08 billion, a PE ratio of -35.31 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a current ratio of 4.10, a quick ratio of 4.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.75.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported ($0.56) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.85) by $0.29. Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 58.65% and a negative net margin of 30.91%.The firm had revenue of $246.09 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $195.57 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($0.93) earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 86.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -3.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ionis Pharmaceuticals news, Director B Lynne Parshall sold 5,000 shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.27, for a total value of $381,350.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 51,344 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,916,006.88. The trade was a 8.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Spencer R. Berthelsen sold 8,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.49, for a total transaction of $587,920.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 156,013 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,465,395.37. This trade represents a 4.88% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 99,726 shares of company stock worth $7,353,901 in the last three months. 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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