Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) Shares Acquired by Stifel Financial Corp

Stifel Financial Corp boosted its holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS - Free Report) by 15.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 211,493 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 28,988 shares during the quarter. Stifel Financial Corp owned about 0.13% of Ionis Pharmaceuticals worth $7,394,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in IONS. Signaturefd LLC grew its position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 160.0% in the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 949 shares of the company's stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 584 shares during the last quarter. Huntington National Bank grew 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 worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 627 shares during the last quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC increased its position 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 worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 671 shares in the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at about $107,000. Finally, Vontobel Holding Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 6.6% in the 4th quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 5,865 shares of the company's stock valued at $205,000 after purchasing an additional 363 shares during the period. 93.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on IONS. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $67.00 to $64.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. HC Wainwright increased their price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective 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 restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $70.00 price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Ionis Pharmaceuticals to a "sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ionis Pharmaceuticals presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $56.67.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals stock traded up $1.07 on Friday, hitting $32.78. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,889,924 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,554,307. 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 firm has a fifty day moving average price of $30.56 and a 200-day moving average price of $33.61. Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 52-week low of $23.95 and a 52-week high of $52.34. The company has a market capitalization of $5.21 billion, a P/E ratio of -10.78 and a beta of 0.29.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ionis Pharmaceuticals news, CEO Brett P. Monia sold 38,843 shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 180,683 shares in the company, valued at $5,718,616.95. This trade represents a 17.69 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Patrick R. O'neil sold 6,165 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.62, for a total value of $194,937.30. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 57,452 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,816,632.24. The trade was a 9.69 % 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 valued at $1,487,181 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 2.71% of the company's stock.

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.