Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Purchases New Holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. $IONS

Key Points

• Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased 46,862 Ionis Pharmaceuticals shares worth approximately $3.7 million in the second quarter. Institutional investors collectively own 93.86% of the company.
• Ionis shares opened at $58.13, down 5.2%, and remain well below their 52-week high of $86.74. The company reported a quarterly loss of $0.69 per share but exceeded revenue expectations with $267.95 million in sales.
• Analyst sentiment remains a “Moderate Buy,” with an average price target of $94.15, although several firms recently lowered their targets. Insider activity was mixed, including CEO Brett Monia’s sale of 50,000 shares and director Michael Hayden’s purchase of 15,000 shares.

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 46,862 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,716,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of IONS. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. bought a new position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the 1st quarter worth about $30,000. Allworth Financial LP acquired a new position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter valued at about $41,000. Silvant Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter valued at about $43,000. Finally, Quarry LP acquired a new stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth approximately $38,000. Institutional investors own 93.86% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Ionis Pharmaceuticals

In other Ionis Pharmaceuticals news, CEO Brett P. Monia sold 50,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.59, for a total value of $4,029,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 245,571 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,790,566.89. The trade was a 16.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Michael R. Hayden bought 15,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 30th. The stock was bought at an average price of $53.38 per share, for a total transaction of $800,700.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 19,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,014,220. The trade was a 375.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 225,163 shares of company stock valued at $17,711,191 over the last three months. 1.81% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 5.2%

NASDAQ:IONS opened at $58.13 on Friday. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $61.71 and its 200 day simple moving average is $70.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.07, a current ratio of 7.89 and a quick ratio of 7.73. Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a one year low of $50.01 and a one year high of $86.74. The company has a market cap of $9.66 billion, a PE ratio of -16.80 and a beta of 0.42.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported ($0.69) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $267.95 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $189.10 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.70 earnings per share. Ionis Pharmaceuticals's revenue was down 40.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -3.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $69.00 price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $130.00 to $110.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 1st. 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. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price target on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $100.00 to $85.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Seventeen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $94.15.

About Ionis Pharmaceuticals

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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