Kennedy Capital Management LLC Has $7.81 Million Position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS)

Kennedy Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS - Free Report) by 37.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 223,278 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 61,202 shares during the quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.14% of Ionis Pharmaceuticals worth $7,806,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth about $673,000. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth $807,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio boosted its holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 56,825 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,276,000 after purchasing an additional 1,529 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 7.4% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,668,358 shares of the company's stock valued at $106,922,000 after acquiring an additional 183,814 shares during the period. Finally, Everence Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter worth $237,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.86% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on IONS shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price 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. Citigroup lowered 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. Redburn Atlantic started coverage on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday, March 31st. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $39.00 price objective for the company. William Blair reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $70.00 price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and two have 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 a consensus price target of $56.72.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 0.2 %

Ionis Pharmaceuticals stock traded up $0.06 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $28.44. 806,119 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,514,165. Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 12-month low of $23.95 and a 12-month high of $52.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.12, a quick ratio of 8.82 and a current ratio of 8.47. The firm has a market cap of $4.52 billion, a P/E ratio of -9.36 and a beta of 0.29. The business has a fifty day moving average of $31.05 and a 200 day moving average of $34.43.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported ($0.66) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($1.12) by $0.46. Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 100.05% and a negative net margin of 64.25%. The company had revenue of $227.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $140.97 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.12 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 30.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -3.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Ionis Pharmaceuticals

In related news, EVP Patrick R. O'neil sold 1,207 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.35, for a total value of $39,046.45. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 56,245 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,819,525.75. This represents a 2.10 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Brett P. Monia sold 38,843 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 180,683 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 111,956 shares of company stock worth $3,608,439. Corporate 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.