OCONNOR A Distinct Business Unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC Increases Stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS)

OCONNOR A Distinct Business Unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS - Free Report) by 63.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 60,580 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 23,623 shares during the quarter. OCONNOR A Distinct Business Unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC's holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals were worth $2,118,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Signaturefd LLC grew its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 160.0% in the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 949 shares of the company's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 584 shares during the last quarter. Huntington National Bank raised its holdings in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 193.5% during the fourth quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 951 shares of the company's stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 627 shares in the last quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 183.8% during the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 1,036 shares of the company's stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 671 shares in the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter worth $107,000. Finally, Stevens Capital Management LP bought a new stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at $205,000. 93.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on IONS. Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $70.00 price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $67.00 to $64.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Guggenheim cut their price objective on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $65.00 to $64.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target 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. Finally, HC Wainwright upped their price target on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ionis Pharmaceuticals currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $56.67.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Ionis Pharmaceuticals stock traded up $0.57 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $33.56. 893,963 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,556,151. The firm's fifty day moving average is $30.55 and its two-hundred day moving average is $33.25. The company has a market capitalization of $5.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -11.04 and a beta of 0.15. Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $23.95 and a fifty-two week high of $52.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.12, a current ratio of 8.47 and a quick ratio of 8.82.

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

Insider Transactions at Ionis Pharmaceuticals

In related news, EVP Patrick R. O'neil sold 1,207 shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.35, for a total transaction of $39,046.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 56,245 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,819,525.75. This trade represents a 2.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Michael R. Hayden acquired 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 1st. The stock was bought at an average price of $31.86 per share, for a total transaction of $477,900.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 50,219 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,599,977.34. This represents a 42.59% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold 2,027 shares of company stock worth $62,863 over the last 90 days. 2.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.