Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) Shares Sold by Alyeska Investment Group L.P.

Alyeska Investment Group L.P. trimmed its position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS - Free Report) by 11.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 150,000 shares of the company's stock after selling 18,951 shares during the period. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. owned approximately 0.09% of Ionis Pharmaceuticals worth $5,244,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Signaturefd LLC lifted its stake 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 in the last quarter. Huntington National Bank increased its stake in 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 period. Lindbrook Capital LLC lifted 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 position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $107,000. Finally, Stevens Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $205,000. 93.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

IONS has been the subject of several recent research reports. Citigroup decreased their price target 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. Guggenheim lowered their target price 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. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $60.00 to $45.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $70.00 price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, HC Wainwright raised their target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $56.67.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ionis Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Patrick R. O'neil sold 1,207 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.35, for a total value of $39,046.45. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 56,245 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,819,525.75. The trade was a 2.10 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Michael R. Hayden bought 15,000 shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 1st. The stock was purchased at an average price of $31.86 per share, with a total value of $477,900.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 50,219 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,599,977.34. This trade represents a 42.59 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 2,027 shares of company stock valued at $62,863 over the last quarter. 2.71% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 2.7 %

IONS opened at $33.65 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $5.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -11.07 and a beta of 0.29. Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 52 week low of $23.95 and a 52 week high of $52.34. The business's 50 day moving average is $30.60 and its two-hundred day moving average is $33.56. 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 (NASDAQ:IONS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported ($0.93) EPS for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $132.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $144.31 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.98) EPS. Ionis Pharmaceuticals's revenue for the quarter was up 10.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -3.5 EPS for the current 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.

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