Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) Shares Purchased by Northern Trust Corp

Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS - Free Report) by 13.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 840,271 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 97,367 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp owned 0.53% of Ionis Pharmaceuticals worth $29,376,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Xponance Inc. lifted its holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 19,339 shares of the company's stock worth $676,000 after purchasing an additional 318 shares in the last quarter. Amalgamated Bank lifted its holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 10,292 shares of the company's stock worth $360,000 after purchasing an additional 335 shares in the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. lifted its holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 6.6% in the 4th quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 5,865 shares of the company's stock worth $205,000 after purchasing an additional 363 shares in the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 21,826 shares of the company's stock worth $763,000 after acquiring an additional 373 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina increased its stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 68,803 shares of the company's stock worth $2,405,000 after acquiring an additional 440 shares during the last quarter. 93.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 1.2%

Ionis Pharmaceuticals stock traded up $0.40 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $33.39. The company's stock had a trading volume of 178,442 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,560,372. The company has a 50 day moving average of $30.54 and a 200-day moving average of $33.29. The stock has a market cap of $5.31 billion, a PE ratio of -10.98 and a beta of 0.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.12, a quick ratio of 8.82 and a current ratio of 8.47. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported ($0.93) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($1.07) by $0.14. The company had revenue of $132.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $144.31 million. Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 100.05% and a negative net margin of 64.25%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 10.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($0.98) earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -3.5 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ionis Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Patrick R. O'neil sold 1,207 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.35, for a total value of $39,046.45. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 56,245 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,819,525.75. This trade represents a 2.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Michael R. Hayden purchased 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 1st. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $31.86 per share, with a total value of $477,900.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 50,219 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,599,977.34. This represents a 42.59% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 2,027 shares of company stock valued at $62,863. 2.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on IONS. Needham & Company LLC reduced their price objective on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $60.00 to $55.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $67.00 to $64.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Guggenheim reduced their price objective on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $65.00 to $64.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Redburn Atlantic began coverage on Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, March 31st. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $39.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $70.00 target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $56.67.

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.