Natixis Makes New $581,000 Investment in Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS)

Natixis bought a new stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 16,626 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $581,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in IONS. Capital World Investors lifted its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 46.5% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 11,465,413 shares of the company's stock worth $400,831,000 after acquiring an additional 3,637,041 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $59,948,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 9.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 16,472,539 shares of the company's stock valued at $575,880,000 after buying an additional 1,416,781 shares during the last quarter. Sovran Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter worth approximately $5,617,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position 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 buying an additional 128,619 shares during the last quarter. 93.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Ionis Pharmaceuticals

In related news, EVP Eric Swayze sold 1,367 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 48,017 shares in the company, valued at $1,551,429.27. This represents a 2.77 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Brett P. Monia sold 13,242 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.45, for a total transaction of $429,702.90. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 219,526 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,123,618.70. This trade represents a 5.69 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 63,167 shares of company stock valued at $2,010,458. 2.71% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

IONS has been the topic of a number of research reports. Guggenheim reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. HC Wainwright began coverage on Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, April 7th. They set a "buy" rating and a $45.00 price objective for the company. Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $70.00 target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. 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. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Ionis Pharmaceuticals to a "sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $56.72.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 3.1 %

NASDAQ:IONS traded up $0.91 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $30.72. 440,746 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,531,776. The company has a quick ratio of 8.82, a current ratio of 8.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.12. The company has a market capitalization of $4.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.11 and a beta of 0.29. Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a twelve month low of $23.95 and a twelve month high of $52.34. The business has a 50-day moving average of $30.58 and a two-hundred day moving average of $33.78.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported ($0.93) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 business's revenue was up 10.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned ($0.98) EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -3.5 EPS for the current year.

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.