Geode Capital Management LLC Acquires 18,890 Shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS)

Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS - Free Report) by 0.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,687,248 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 18,890 shares during the quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC owned 1.70% of Ionis Pharmaceuticals worth $93,976,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of IONS. 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. Lindbrook Capital LLC grew its holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 183.8% during the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 1,036 shares of the company's stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 671 shares during the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter worth about $107,000. Stevens Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth $205,000. Finally, Vontobel Holding Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 6.6% during the fourth quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 5,865 shares of the company's stock valued at $205,000 after acquiring an additional 363 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.86% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on IONS. HC Wainwright began coverage on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday, April 7th. They set a "buy" rating and a $45.00 target price on the stock. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $67.00 to $64.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Redburn Atlantic assumed 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 reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $70.00 target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $47.00 to $45.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $56.72.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of IONS stock traded down $0.04 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $28.34. 474,341 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,512,891. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $31.05 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $34.43. The company has a quick ratio of 8.82, a current ratio of 8.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.12. Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 1-year low of $23.95 and a 1-year high of $52.34. The company has a market cap of $4.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.32 and a beta of 0.29.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported ($0.66) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($1.12) by $0.46. The business had revenue of $227.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $140.97 million. Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 100.05% and a negative net margin of 64.25%. The firm's revenue was down 30.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.12 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -3.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ionis Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Eric Swayze sold 7,154 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.84, for a total value of $234,937.36. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 45,670 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,499,802.80. This trade represents a 13.54 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Patrick R. O'neil sold 6,165 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.62, for a total value of $194,937.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 57,452 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,816,632.24. This represents a 9.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 111,956 shares of company stock worth $3,608,439 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 2.71% of the company's stock.

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.