The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Sells 22,668 Shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lowered its stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS - Free Report) by 7.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 286,279 shares of the company's stock after selling 22,668 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned approximately 0.18% of Ionis Pharmaceuticals worth $10,008,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Signaturefd LLC boosted its position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 160.0% in the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 949 shares of the company's stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 584 shares during the period. Huntington National Bank boosted its holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 193.5% in the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 951 shares of the company's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 627 shares during the period. Lindbrook Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 183.8% during the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 1,036 shares of the company's stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 671 shares in the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter worth $107,000. Finally, Vontobel Holding Ltd. raised its position 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 worth $205,000 after buying an additional 363 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.86% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Michael R. Hayden acquired 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 1st. The stock was acquired at an average price of $31.86 per share, with a total value of $477,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 50,219 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,599,977.34. This represents a 42.59 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 56,245 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,819,525.75. This trade represents a 2.10 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 2,027 shares of company stock valued at $62,863 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 2.71% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on IONS. Guggenheim decreased their target price on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $65.00 to $64.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. 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 research note on Wednesday, April 30th. HC Wainwright lifted their target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $47.00 to $45.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 24th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday, March 31st. They set a "neutral" rating and a $39.00 price objective for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ionis Pharmaceuticals presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $56.67.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 1.5 %

NASDAQ IONS traded down $0.49 on Friday, hitting $32.26. The company's stock had a trading volume of 946,934 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,563,083. The firm has a market cap of $5.13 billion, a P/E ratio of -10.61 and a beta of 0.15. Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 52-week low of $23.95 and a 52-week high of $52.34. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $30.59 and its 200 day simple moving average is $33.46. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported ($0.93) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($1.07) by $0.14. Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 100.05% and a negative net margin of 64.25%. The company had revenue of $132.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $144.31 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($0.98) earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 10.9% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -3.5 EPS 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.