Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) Holdings Raised by Orbimed Advisors LLC

Orbimed Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS - Free Report) by 21.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,817,347 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 492,900 shares during the period. Ionis Pharmaceuticals accounts for approximately 2.2% of Orbimed Advisors LLC's holdings, making the stock its 12th largest position. Orbimed Advisors LLC owned about 1.78% of Ionis Pharmaceuticals worth $98,494,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Signaturefd LLC grew its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 160.0% during the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 949 shares of the company's stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 584 shares during the last quarter. Huntington National Bank boosted its stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 193.5% during the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 951 shares of the company's stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 627 shares during the last quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC grew its stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 183.8% in 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 during the period. Venturi Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $107,000. Finally, Vontobel Holding Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 6.6% in the fourth quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 5,865 shares of the company's stock valued at $205,000 after purchasing an additional 363 shares in the last quarter. 93.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Patrick R. O'neil sold 1,207 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 56,245 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,819,525.75. This represents a 2.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Michael R. Hayden acquired 15,000 shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 1st. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $31.86 per share, for a total transaction of $477,900.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 50,219 shares in the company, valued at $1,599,977.34. The trade was a 42.59% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 2,027 shares of company stock worth $62,863. 2.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 3.9%

IONS stock opened at $33.53 on Tuesday. Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 52 week low of $23.95 and a 52 week high of $52.34. The company has a current ratio of 8.47, a quick ratio of 8.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.12. The firm's 50-day moving average is $30.59 and its two-hundred day moving average is $33.35. The company has a market capitalization of $5.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -11.03 and a beta of 0.15.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported ($0.93) EPS for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $132.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $144.31 million. During the same period last year, the company posted ($0.98) earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 10.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -3.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.

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