UBS Group AG Has $82.67 Million Position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. $IONS

Key Points

• UBS Group AG trimmed its stake in Ionis by 1.8% to 1,045,041 shares, valued at $82.67 million (about 0.65% ownership), and overall institutional investors hold roughly 93.86% of the stock.
• Ionis delivered a quarterly beat, reporting EPS of -$0.56 versus consensus -$0.85 and revenue of $246 million versus $195.6 million (up 86.4% YoY), though the company remains unprofitable with a negative PE and ROE.
• Significant insider selling has occurred (666,443 shares worth ~$50.6M in the past 90 days) while analysts maintain a consensus "Moderate Buy" rating with an average target price of $99.35 and several firms raising targets (Morgan Stanley to $130).

UBS Group AG lessened its holdings in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS - Free Report) by 1.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,045,041 shares of the company's stock after selling 18,949 shares during the quarter. UBS Group AG owned approximately 0.65% of Ionis Pharmaceuticals worth $82,673,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CWM LLC increased its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 7.3% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,488 shares of the company's stock worth $163,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares during the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital lifted its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 5,536 shares of the company's stock valued at $460,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares during the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 198.4% in the third quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 376 shares of the company's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio boosted its holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 0.6% in the third quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 48,545 shares of the company's stock worth $3,176,000 after purchasing an additional 301 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. acquired a new position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth $25,000. 93.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Ionis Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $75.28 on Monday. Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 52 week low of $31.66 and a 52 week high of $86.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.75, a quick ratio of 4.09 and a current ratio of 4.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.44 billion, a PE ratio of -36.37 and a beta of 0.38. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $75.30 and its 200-day simple moving average is $77.35.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results 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 firm 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 firm's revenue for the quarter was up 86.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($0.93) EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -4.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Shannon L. Devers sold 6,193 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.05, for a total transaction of $458,591.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 16,348 shares in the company, valued at $1,210,569.40. This represents a 27.47% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Eugene Schneider sold 5,812 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 19th. The shares were 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 directly owned 63,890 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,534,273.30. This trade represents a 8.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 666,443 shares of company stock valued at $50,623,742 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 2.71% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on IONS shares. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $73.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $95.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Raymond James Financial assumed coverage on Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, April 10th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $104.00 target price for the company. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price 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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