SG Americas Securities LLC Sells 35,442 Shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS)

SG Americas Securities LLC decreased its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS - Free Report) by 85.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,129 shares of the company's stock after selling 35,442 shares during the quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC's holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals were worth $310,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,806,023 shares of the company's stock valued at $566,411,000 after acquiring an additional 605,747 shares in the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 11,678,259 shares of the company's stock valued at $441,088,000 after acquiring an additional 521,564 shares in the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 10.1% in the 1st quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 6,476,033 shares of the company's stock valued at $239,872,000 after acquiring an additional 593,051 shares in the last quarter. BVF Inc. IL grew its holdings in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 11.1% in the 2nd quarter. BVF Inc. IL now owns 2,846,015 shares of the company's stock valued at $116,772,000 after acquiring an additional 285,254 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 2.8% in the 1st quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,069,950 shares of the company's stock valued at $73,980,000 after acquiring an additional 57,227 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.86% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Patrick R. O'neil sold 6,450 shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.75, for a total value of $333,787.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 46,802 shares in the company, valued at $2,422,003.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Ionis Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Patrick R. O'neil sold 6,450 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.75, for a total transaction of $333,787.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 46,802 shares in the company, valued at $2,422,003.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Brett P. Monia sold 32,059 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.42, for a total transaction of $1,616,414.78. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 154,136 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,771,537.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 101,734 shares of company stock worth $5,152,226. Corporate insiders own 2.65% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

IONS has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, December 18th. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $60.00 price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Finally, Bank of America upgraded Ionis Pharmaceuticals from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $52.00 to $62.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ionis Pharmaceuticals has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $55.92.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:IONS traded up $0.59 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $42.83. 779,061 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,180,684. Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 12 month low of $34.32 and a 12 month high of $54.44. The firm has a market cap of $6.24 billion, a PE ratio of -16.73 and a beta of 0.39. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $45.23 and a 200-day moving average price of $47.52. The company has a current ratio of 5.90, a quick ratio of 5.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.18.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 21st. The company reported ($0.06) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.78) by $0.72. Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 46.32% and a negative return on equity of 90.29%. The company had revenue of $325.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $176.01 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned ($0.37) earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 113.8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -3.92 EPS for the current fiscal 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.