Tanaka Capital Management Inc. Sells 7,620 Shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS)

Tanaka Capital Management Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS - Free Report) by 52.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,892 shares of the company's stock after selling 7,620 shares during the period. Ionis Pharmaceuticals accounts for 0.6% of Tanaka Capital Management Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest holding. Tanaka Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals were worth $241,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 9.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 16,472,539 shares of the company's stock worth $575,880,000 after purchasing an additional 1,416,781 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors increased its stake in 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 buying an additional 3,637,041 shares during the period. Orbimed Advisors LLC lifted its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 21.2% in the 4th quarter. Orbimed Advisors LLC now owns 2,817,347 shares of the company's stock worth $98,494,000 after buying an additional 492,900 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,687,248 shares of the company's stock valued at $93,976,000 after buying an additional 18,890 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at $59,948,000. 93.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on IONS shares. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $50.00 price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday. Wall Street Zen raised Ionis Pharmaceuticals to a "sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Redburn Atlantic began coverage on Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, March 31st. They set a "neutral" rating and a $39.00 price target for the company. Citigroup reduced their price target on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $67.00 to $64.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $47.00 to $45.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $56.67.

Insider Activity

In other Ionis Pharmaceuticals news, Director Michael R. Hayden acquired 15,000 shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 1st. The stock was bought at an average cost of $31.86 per share, with a total value of $477,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 50,219 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,599,977.34. The trade was a 42.59% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 2.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:IONS traded down $0.44 during trading on Friday, reaching $32.82. The stock had a trading volume of 415,982 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,544,383. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $30.59 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $33.11. The company has a quick ratio of 8.82, a current ratio of 8.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.12. Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 52 week low of $23.95 and a 52 week high of $52.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.79 and a beta of 0.15.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported ($0.93) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($1.07) by $0.14. The business had revenue of $132.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $144.31 million. Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 64.25% and a negative return on equity of 100.05%. Ionis Pharmaceuticals's revenue was up 10.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted ($0.98) EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -3.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Profile

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.