Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. decreased its position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS - Free Report) by 9.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 142,433 shares of the company's stock after selling 14,224 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned 0.09% of Ionis Pharmaceuticals worth $4,297,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Xponance Inc. raised its position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 19,339 shares of the company's stock valued at $676,000 after buying an additional 318 shares during the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 21,826 shares of the company's stock valued at $763,000 after purchasing an additional 373 shares in the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina grew its holdings in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 68,803 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,405,000 after purchasing an additional 440 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its holdings in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 4.8% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 9,989 shares of the company's stock valued at $301,000 after purchasing an additional 458 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 13,616 shares of the company's stock valued at $476,000 after purchasing an additional 504 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.86% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on IONS shares. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals to a "sell" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Redburn Atlantic began coverage on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, March 31st. They set a "neutral" rating and a $39.00 price objective for the company. Needham & Company LLC dropped their price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $60.00 to $55.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $50.00 price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Finally, Barclays raised shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $51.00 to $57.00 in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $58.25.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ionis Pharmaceuticals

In other news, Director Michael R. Hayden acquired 15,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 acquisition, the director directly owned 50,219 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,599,977.34. The trade was a 42.59% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 2.71% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 1.1%

Shares of IONS stock traded down $0.44 on Tuesday, hitting $41.34. The stock had a trading volume of 1,752,883 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,610,185. The company has a quick ratio of 9.62, a current ratio of 9.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.63. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $35.71 and a 200 day moving average price of $33.20. The company has a market cap of $6.58 billion, a PE ratio of -13.83 and a beta of 0.23. Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a one year low of $23.95 and a one year high of $52.34.

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