Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) Position Lifted by Two Sigma Advisers LP

Two Sigma Advisers LP increased its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS - Free Report) by 1.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,349,211 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 16,800 shares during the period. Two Sigma Advisers LP owned about 0.85% of Ionis Pharmaceuticals worth $47,168,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of IONS. Signaturefd LLC raised its position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 160.0% in the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 949 shares of the company's stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 584 shares during the last quarter. Huntington National Bank raised its position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 193.5% in the fourth quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 951 shares of the company's stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 627 shares during the last quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 183.8% in the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 1,036 shares of the company's stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 671 shares during the last quarter. Raiffeisen Bank International AG acquired a new position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $62,000. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $107,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.86% of the company's stock.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 0.8%

IONS traded down $0.28 during trading on Friday, hitting $32.98. 963,527 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,550,891. The company has a current ratio of 8.47, a quick ratio of 8.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.12. Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 1 year low of $23.95 and a 1 year high of $52.34. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $30.59 and a 200 day moving average price of $33.03. The firm has a market cap of $5.25 billion, a P/E ratio of -10.85 and a beta of 0.15.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($1.07) by $0.14. Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 64.25% and a negative return on equity of 100.05%. The company had revenue of $132.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $144.31 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.98) earnings per share. Ionis Pharmaceuticals's revenue for the quarter was up 10.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -3.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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, May 1st. The shares were acquired at an average price of $31.86 per share, for a total transaction of $477,900.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 50,219 shares in the company, valued at $1,599,977.34. The trade was a 42.59% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 2.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on IONS shares. Needham & Company LLC cut 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 report on Wednesday, April 30th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $70.00 price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $60.00 to $45.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Redburn Atlantic began coverage on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday, March 31st. They set a "neutral" rating and a $39.00 price target for the company. Finally, Guggenheim dropped their price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $65.00 to $64.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ionis Pharmaceuticals currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $56.67.

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.