Sovran Advisors LLC Purchases 157,092 Shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS)

Sovran Advisors LLC lifted its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS - Free Report) by 91.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 328,904 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 157,092 shares during the period. Ionis Pharmaceuticals comprises 1.2% of Sovran Advisors LLC's holdings, making the stock its 15th largest position. Sovran Advisors LLC owned 0.21% of Ionis Pharmaceuticals worth $9,341,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 9.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 16,472,539 shares of the company's stock valued at $575,880,000 after buying an additional 1,416,781 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors raised its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 46.5% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 11,465,413 shares of the company's stock valued at $400,831,000 after purchasing an additional 3,637,041 shares during the period. Orbimed Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 21.2% in the 4th quarter. Orbimed Advisors LLC now owns 2,817,347 shares of the company's stock valued at $98,494,000 after purchasing an additional 492,900 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,687,248 shares of the company's stock valued at $93,976,000 after purchasing an additional 18,890 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at about $59,948,000. Institutional investors own 93.86% of the company's stock.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of NASDAQ:IONS opened at $39.80 on Friday. Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 52-week low of $23.95 and a 52-week high of $52.34. The company has a market capitalization of $6.33 billion, a P/E ratio of -13.31 and a beta of 0.18. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $33.97 and a 200 day simple moving average of $32.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.63, a quick ratio of 9.62 and a current ratio of 9.66.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported ($0.93) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($1.07) by $0.14. Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 63.65% and a negative return on equity of 91.85%. The business had revenue of $132.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $144.31 million. During the same period last year, the business posted ($0.98) EPS. Ionis Pharmaceuticals's revenue was up 10.9% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -3.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on IONS. HC Wainwright reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $50.00 price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday. Wall Street Zen raised Ionis Pharmaceuticals to a "sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Guggenheim dropped their price target on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $65.00 to $64.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Needham & Company LLC dropped their price target on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $60.00 to $55.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $45.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $57.88.

Insider Activity at Ionis Pharmaceuticals

In related news, Director Michael R. Hayden acquired 15,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 1st. The stock was purchased 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 directly owns 50,219 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,599,977.34. The trade was a 42.59% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 2.60% of the stock is currently 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.