Stifel Financial Corp Acquires 28,988 Shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS)

Stifel Financial Corp increased its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS - Free Report) by 15.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 211,493 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 28,988 shares during the quarter. Stifel Financial Corp owned 0.13% of Ionis Pharmaceuticals worth $7,394,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of IONS. Xponance Inc. grew its stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 19,339 shares of the company's stock worth $676,000 after purchasing an additional 318 shares in the last quarter. Amalgamated Bank grew its position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 10,292 shares of the company's stock worth $360,000 after buying an additional 335 shares during the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. lifted its position in 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 last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 21,826 shares of the company's stock worth $763,000 after purchasing an additional 373 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina lifted its holdings in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 68,803 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,405,000 after purchasing an additional 440 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.86% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ionis Pharmaceuticals

In related news, EVP Patrick R. O'neil sold 1,207 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.35, for a total transaction of $39,046.45. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 56,245 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,819,525.75. This represents a 2.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Brett P. Monia sold 38,843 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.65, for a total value of $1,229,380.95. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 180,683 shares in the company, valued at $5,718,616.95. The trade was a 17.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 47,035 shares of company stock worth $1,487,181 over the last three months. Company insiders own 2.71% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on IONS. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $47.00 to $45.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $70.00 target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday, March 31st. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $39.00 price target on the stock. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $60.00 to $45.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their target price 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $56.67.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 3.4 %

Ionis Pharmaceuticals stock traded up $1.07 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $32.78. 1,889,924 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,550,054. Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 1-year low of $23.95 and a 1-year high of $52.34. The stock has a market cap of $5.21 billion, a P/E ratio of -10.78 and a beta of 0.29. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $30.54 and a two-hundred day moving average of $33.71. The company has a current ratio of 8.47, a quick ratio of 8.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.12.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported ($0.93) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($1.07) by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $132.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $144.31 million. Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 64.25% and a negative return on equity of 100.05%. The business's revenue was up 10.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned ($0.98) earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -3.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.