Tweedy Browne Co LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. $IONS

Key Points

• Tweedy Browne cut its stake in Ionis by 15.0% in Q4, selling 436,286 shares and leaving it with 2,464,930 shares (about 1.52% of Ionis), which still represents roughly 15.7% of Tweedy Browne's holdings and ~ $195 million in value.
• Significant insider selling has occurred recently — insiders disposed of 666,443 shares worth roughly $50.6 million over the last three months (examples: EVP Eugene Schneider sold 5,812 shares at $70.97; EVP Kyle Jenne sold 4,902 shares at $75.17).
• Ionis reported a quarterly earnings beat (EPS -$0.56 vs. -$0.85 estimate) and revenue of $246.0M (vs. $195.6M estimate), with revenue up 86.4% year-over-year, while analysts remain broadly positive (consensus "Moderate Buy" with a $99.35 target and some firms raising price targets, including Morgan Stanley to $130).

Tweedy Browne Co LLC lowered its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS - Free Report) by 15.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,464,930 shares of the company's stock after selling 436,286 shares during the quarter. Ionis Pharmaceuticals makes up approximately 15.7% of Tweedy Browne Co LLC's holdings, making the stock its biggest holding. Tweedy Browne Co LLC owned about 1.52% of Ionis Pharmaceuticals worth $195,001,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,340,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 66.1% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 862,593 shares of the company's stock worth $56,431,000 after buying an additional 343,409 shares during the last quarter. Dynasty Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $938,000. Jain Global LLC lifted its position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 3,037.4% during the 3rd quarter. Jain Global LLC now owns 225,739 shares of the company's stock worth $14,768,000 after buying an additional 218,544 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ lifted its position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 161.3% during the 3rd quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ now owns 155,790 shares of the company's stock worth $10,192,000 after buying an additional 96,164 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.86% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ionis Pharmaceuticals

In other news, EVP Eugene Schneider sold 5,812 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.97, for a total transaction of $412,477.64. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 63,890 shares in the company, valued at $4,534,273.30. This represents a 8.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Kyle Jenne sold 4,902 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.17, for a total value of $368,483.34. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 23,713 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,782,506.21. This trade represents a 17.13% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 666,443 shares of company stock valued at $50,623,742. Corporate insiders own 2.71% of the company's stock.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

IONS stock opened at $75.45 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $12.47 billion, a P/E ratio of -36.45 and a beta of 0.38. Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a twelve month low of $31.66 and a twelve month high of $86.74. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $75.30 and a 200-day simple moving average of $77.35. The company has a current ratio of 4.10, a quick ratio of 4.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.75.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported ($0.56) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.85) by $0.29. The business had revenue of $246.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $195.57 million. Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 58.65% and a negative net margin of 30.91%.The company's revenue was up 86.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($0.93) earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -4.07 EPS for the current year.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Ionis Pharmaceuticals this week:

• Positive Sentiment: HC Wainwright keeps a Buy rating and a $125 price target and projects a return to positive quarterly EPS in parts of 2027 (Q3 2027 $0.11; Q4 2027 $0.26) — this bullish view and high target can drive upside expectations. HC Wainwright coverage (MarketBeat)
• Positive Sentiment: HC Wainwright raised some near-term estimates (FY2026 EPS improved to -$3.05 from -$3.27, and Q4 2026 was revised to -$0.73 from -$0.84), signaling expected improvement in losses — a constructive near-term change. HC Wainwright coverage (MarketBeat)
• Positive Sentiment: RBC Capital published a Buy on IONS, adding independent broker support for upside. Ionis Receives a Buy from RBC Capital
• Neutral Sentiment: Ionis will hold a virtual Annual Meeting and corporate update on June 4 — a routine event that could provide incremental corporate guidance but is neutral on its own. Annual Meeting notice (BusinessWire)
• Neutral Sentiment: Stifel Nicolaus maintained a Hold rating on IONS, providing counterbalance to Buy calls — a neutral/contrasting view for investors weighing consensus. Stifel Keep Hold
• Negative Sentiment: Offsetting some optimism, HC Wainwright cut its FY2027 EPS forecast (now -$0.81 from -$0.35) and lowered Q3 2026 expectations to -$0.90 (from -$0.80), which signals downside risk to near-term profitability and tempers enthusiasm. HC Wainwright coverage (MarketBeat)

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

IONS has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $95.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $110.00 to $108.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Canaccord Genuity Group started coverage on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday, April 20th. They set a "buy" rating and a $110.00 price objective for the company. Wall Street Zen raised Ionis Pharmaceuticals from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $87.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, February 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $99.35.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

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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