Sector Gamma AS Boosts Stock Holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. $IONS

Key Points

• Sector Gamma AS increased its holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 21.2%, owning 285,842 shares after acquiring an additional 50,000 shares in the first quarter of the year.
• Insider selling occurred, with EVP Eugene Schneider and Richard S. Geary selling 9,549 and 10,000 shares respectively, reflecting decreased ownership stakes.
• Ionis Pharmaceuticals reported a significant earnings beat with $0.70 earnings per share for the last quarter, far surpassing the consensus estimate of $0.19.

Sector Gamma AS grew its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS - Free Report) by 21.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 285,842 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 50,000 shares during the period. Ionis Pharmaceuticals makes up approximately 2.8% of Sector Gamma AS's investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest holding. Sector Gamma AS owned 0.18% of Ionis Pharmaceuticals worth $8,624,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Signaturefd LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 45.6% during the 1st quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,382 shares of the company's stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 433 shares during the last quarter. Raiffeisen Bank International AG acquired a new position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at about $62,000. CWM LLC increased its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 18.7% during the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,435 shares of the company's stock worth $73,000 after purchasing an additional 384 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 1,722.5% during the first quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 3,244 shares of the company's stock worth $98,000 after buying an additional 3,066 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GF Fund Management CO. LTD. bought a new stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at about $116,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.86% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Needham & Company LLC dropped their price objective on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $60.00 to $55.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Guggenheim dropped their price target on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $65.00 to $64.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Barclays upgraded shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $51.00 to $57.00 in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $45.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 12th. Finally, Raymond James Financial raised their price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $60.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $59.38.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Brett P. Monia sold 2,432 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.00, for a total value of $109,440.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 179,820 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,091,900. This represents a 1.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director B Lynne Parshall sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.93, for a total transaction of $209,650.00. Following the sale, the director owned 86,344 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,620,403.92. This trade represents a 5.47% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 28,141 shares of company stock valued at $1,204,806. 2.71% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

NASDAQ:IONS traded down $0.95 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $42.48. The stock had a trading volume of 1,954,559 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,759,059. Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 12-month low of $23.95 and a 12-month high of $50.43. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $40.84 and a 200 day simple moving average of $34.85. The stock has a market cap of $6.77 billion, a P/E ratio of -23.09 and a beta of 0.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 2.86 and a current ratio of 2.87.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $0.70 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.19 by $0.51. Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 28.25% and a negative return on equity of 45.29%. The firm had revenue of $452.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $270.90 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($0.45) earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 100.9% on a year-over-year basis. Ionis Pharmaceuticals has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -3.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.