The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Invests $9.57 Million in Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. $IONS

Key Points

• The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company initiated a $9.57 million position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals, buying 120,678 shares and taking a 0.07% stake. Institutional investors collectively own 93.86% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment remains favorable, with 17 Buy ratings, four Holds and one Sell; Ionis has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $94.15, despite several recent target reductions.
• Ionis beat quarterly EPS and revenue estimates, reporting a loss of $0.69 per share versus expectations of $1.08 and revenue of $267.95 million, but revenue fell 40.7% year over year. The stock opened at $61.05, while insiders sold significantly more shares than they purchased during the period.

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company bought a new position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 120,678 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,569,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned 0.07% of Ionis Pharmaceuticals at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. acquired a new stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the 1st quarter valued at about $30,000. Allworth Financial LP acquired a new position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter valued at about $41,000. Silvant Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter worth about $43,000. Finally, Quarry LP purchased a new stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter worth about $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.86% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $113.00 to $90.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 9th. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $60.00 price objective for the company. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $115.00 to $100.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 10th. HC Wainwright reduced their target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Leerink Partners upped their price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $122.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. Seventeen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $94.15.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ionis Pharmaceuticals news, Director Michael R. Hayden purchased 15,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 30th. The shares were acquired 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 in the company, valued at $1,014,220. The trade was a 375.00% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Brett P. Monia sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.59, for a total value of $4,029,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 245,571 shares of the company's stock, valued at $19,790,566.89. This represents a 16.92% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 233,163 shares of company stock worth $18,316,551 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.81% of the company's stock.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 2.2%

IONS opened at $61.05 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.15 billion, a P/E ratio of -17.64 and a beta of 0.41. The firm's 50 day moving average is $63.05 and its 200-day moving average is $71.38. Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 52-week low of $42.13 and a 52-week high of $86.74. The company has a quick ratio of 7.73, a current ratio of 7.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.07.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported ($0.69) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($1.08) by $0.39. The business had revenue of $267.95 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $189.10 million. Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 64.76% and a negative return on equity of 111.08%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 40.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.70 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -3.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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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