Marshall Wace LLP Sells 1,108,158 Shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS)

Marshall Wace LLP trimmed its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS - Free Report) by 57.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 812,306 shares of the company's stock after selling 1,108,158 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP owned approximately 0.51% of Ionis Pharmaceuticals worth $28,398,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter worth $59,948,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 9.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 16,472,539 shares of the company's stock valued at $575,880,000 after acquiring an additional 1,416,781 shares during the last quarter. Sovran Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at about $5,617,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 967.2% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 141,917 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,961,000 after purchasing an additional 128,619 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 606.8% in the 4th quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 125,389 shares of the company's stock worth $4,384,000 after purchasing an additional 107,648 shares during the last quarter. 93.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Ionis Pharmaceuticals

In other Ionis Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Patrick R. O'neil sold 6,165 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.62, for a total transaction of $194,937.30. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 57,452 shares in the company, valued at $1,816,632.24. This trade represents a 9.69 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Eric Swayze sold 1,367 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.31, for a total value of $44,167.77. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 48,017 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,551,429.27. This trade represents a 2.77 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 63,167 shares of company stock worth $2,010,458. 2.71% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:IONS traded up $0.34 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $29.44. 422,304 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,519,921. The company has a market cap of $4.68 billion, a P/E ratio of -9.66 and a beta of 0.29. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $30.75 and its 200-day simple moving average is $34.04. 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, Inc. has a one year low of $23.95 and a one year high of $52.34.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported ($0.66) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($1.12) by $0.46. The business had revenue of $227.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $140.97 million. Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 100.05% and a negative net margin of 64.25%. Ionis Pharmaceuticals's revenue was down 30.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.12 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -3.5 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

IONS has been the subject of several recent research reports. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and set a $60.00 target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. HC Wainwright initiated coverage on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday, April 7th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $45.00 price target for the company. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals to a "sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Citigroup reduced 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. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $60.00 to $45.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $56.72.

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.