595,000 Shares in Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) Acquired by Vestal Point Capital LP

Vestal Point Capital LP acquired a new stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 595,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $20,801,000. Vestal Point Capital LP owned 0.38% of Ionis Pharmaceuticals as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 9.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 16,472,539 shares of the company's stock valued at $575,880,000 after buying an additional 1,416,781 shares during the period. Capital World Investors boosted its holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 46.5% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 11,465,413 shares of the company's stock valued at $400,831,000 after acquiring an additional 3,637,041 shares during the last quarter. Orbimed Advisors LLC boosted its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 21.2% during the 4th quarter. Orbimed Advisors LLC now owns 2,817,347 shares of the company's stock worth $98,494,000 after purchasing an additional 492,900 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,687,248 shares of the company's stock worth $93,976,000 after purchasing an additional 18,890 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at $59,948,000. 93.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on IONS. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals to a "sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday, March 31st. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $39.00 price target for the company. Needham & Company LLC dropped their price objective on 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. reduced their target price on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $47.00 to $45.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $70.00 price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ionis Pharmaceuticals currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $56.67.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of IONS traded down $0.24 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $33.26. 943,390 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,548,818. Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a twelve month low of $23.95 and a twelve month high of $52.34. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $30.61 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $33.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.12, a current ratio of 8.47 and a quick ratio of 8.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.94 and a beta of 0.15.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported ($0.93) EPS for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $132.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $144.31 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($0.98) EPS. Ionis Pharmaceuticals's quarterly revenue was up 10.9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -3.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Michael R. Hayden acquired 15,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 1st. The shares were bought at an average price of $31.86 per share, with a total value of $477,900.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 50,219 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,599,977.34. This represents a 42.59% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 2.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals 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.