Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) Position Increased by Capital World Investors

Capital World Investors grew its holdings in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS - Free Report) by 46.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 11,465,413 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 3,637,041 shares during the period. Capital World Investors owned about 7.26% of Ionis Pharmaceuticals worth $400,831,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of IONS. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 967.2% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 141,917 shares of the company's stock worth $4,961,000 after acquiring an additional 128,619 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 222.5% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 23,927 shares of the company's stock worth $836,000 after purchasing an additional 16,508 shares in the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 21,826 shares of the company's stock valued at $763,000 after buying an additional 373 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 11.1% during the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 10,994 shares of the company's stock valued at $384,000 after buying an additional 1,101 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth approximately $829,000. 93.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets dropped 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. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $67.00 to $64.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 20th. HC Wainwright assumed coverage on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday, April 7th. They set a "buy" rating and a $45.00 price objective for the company. Guggenheim restated a "buy" rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $60.00 price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ionis Pharmaceuticals presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $56.72.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

NASDAQ:IONS traded down $0.11 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $29.47. 295,755 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,523,578. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $30.72 and a 200 day moving average price of $33.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.68 billion, a PE ratio of -9.70 and a beta of 0.29. 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, Inc. has a 1-year low of $23.95 and a 1-year high of $52.34.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported ($0.66) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($1.12) by $0.46. The company 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 quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.12 earnings per share. 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 the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.65, for a total transaction of $1,229,380.95. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 180,683 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,718,616.95. The trade was 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 hyperlink. Also, CFO Elizabeth L. Hougen sold 1,523 shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.44, for a total value of $49,406.12. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 110,500 shares in the company, valued at $3,584,620. This represents a 1.36 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 63,167 shares of company stock worth $2,010,458. Company 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.