Vanguard Group Inc. Sells 88,605 Shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. $IONS

Key Points

• Vanguard Group Inc. has reduced its stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 0.5%, now holding 16,383,934 shares, which represents 10.29% of the company and is valued at approximately $494 million.
• Ionis Pharmaceuticals reported earnings of $0.70 per share, significantly higher than analysts' estimates of $0.19, with revenue increasing by 100.9% year-over-year to $452 million.
• Several institutional investors have altered their positions in Ionis, with notable increases from Capital World Investors (46.5% increase) and Teacher Retirement System of Texas (660.7% increase) in the first quarter.

Vanguard Group Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS - Free Report) by 0.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 16,383,934 shares of the company's stock after selling 88,605 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 10.29% of Ionis Pharmaceuticals worth $494,303,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 31.0% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 13,301 shares of the company's stock valued at $465,000 after purchasing an additional 3,146 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 7.9% during the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 205,514 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,185,000 after buying an additional 15,000 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,692,000. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina lifted its holdings in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 68,803 shares of the company's stock worth $2,405,000 after buying an additional 440 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mariner LLC boosted its position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 19.6% during the fourth quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 27,661 shares of the company's stock worth $967,000 after acquiring an additional 4,534 shares during the last quarter. 93.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

IONS has been the topic of a number of research reports. Needham & Company LLC reduced their price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $60.00 to $55.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $45.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, June 12th. Guggenheim dropped their price target on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $65.00 to $64.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Barclays raised Ionis Pharmaceuticals from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $51.00 to $57.00 in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. Finally, Raymond James Financial increased their target price on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $60.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ionis Pharmaceuticals presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $59.38.

Insider Activity at Ionis Pharmaceuticals

In related news, CEO Brett P. Monia sold 2,432 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.00, for a total value of $109,440.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 179,820 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,091,900. This trade represents a 1.33% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director B Lynne Parshall sold 5,000 shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.93, for a total transaction of $209,650.00. Following the sale, the director owned 86,344 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,620,403.92. The trade was a 5.47% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 28,141 shares of company stock valued at $1,204,806 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 2.60% of the company's stock.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 0.0%

NASDAQ IONS traded down $0.01 during trading on Monday, hitting $43.77. The stock had a trading volume of 747,905 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,755,615. Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a one year low of $23.95 and a one year high of $50.43. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $40.70 and a 200 day simple moving average of $34.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -23.79 and a beta of 0.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 2.86 and a current ratio of 2.87.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $0.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.19 by $0.51. Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 45.29% and a negative net margin of 28.25%. The firm had revenue of $452.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $270.90 million. During the same period last year, the company earned ($0.45) EPS. Ionis Pharmaceuticals's quarterly revenue was up 100.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -3.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Company 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.