Hsbc Holdings PLC Purchases New Position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS)

Hsbc Holdings PLC bought a new position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 83,055 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,928,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC owned 0.05% of Ionis Pharmaceuticals at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 967.2% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 141,917 shares of the company's stock worth $4,961,000 after purchasing an additional 128,619 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 222.5% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 23,927 shares of the company's stock valued at $836,000 after buying an additional 16,508 shares in the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 21,826 shares of the company's stock valued at $763,000 after buying an additional 373 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 11.1% in the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 10,994 shares of the company's stock worth $384,000 after acquiring an additional 1,101 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at $829,000. 93.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on IONS shares. Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, March 31st. They set a "neutral" rating and a $39.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $47.00 to $45.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Needham & Company LLC reduced their target price on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $60.00 to $55.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $67.00 to $64.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $60.00 to $45.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ionis Pharmaceuticals currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $56.67.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

NASDAQ IONS traded up $0.69 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $33.47. The company's stock had a trading volume of 407,260 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,549,814. Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 1 year low of $23.95 and a 1 year high of $52.34. The company has a quick ratio of 8.82, a current ratio of 8.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.12. The company has a market capitalization of $5.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -11.00 and a beta of 0.29. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $30.56 and its 200-day moving average price is $33.61.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported ($0.93) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($1.07) by $0.14. The company had revenue of $132.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $144.31 million. Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 64.25% and a negative return on equity of 100.05%. During the same period last year, the company posted ($0.98) earnings per share. Ionis Pharmaceuticals's quarterly revenue was up 10.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -3.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Brett P. Monia sold 38,843 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.65, for a total value of $1,229,380.95. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 180,683 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,718,616.95. The trade was a 17.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Michael R. Hayden acquired 15,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 1st. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $31.86 per share, with a total value of $477,900.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 50,219 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,599,977.34. This represents a 42.59 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 47,035 shares of company stock valued at $1,487,181 in the last quarter. 2.71% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.