Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS)

Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC lifted its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS - Free Report) by 2.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 371,381 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 8,493 shares during the quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC owned about 0.24% of Ionis Pharmaceuticals worth $12,983,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Everence Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at about $237,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake 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 worth $4,961,000 after purchasing an additional 128,619 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 222.5% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 23,927 shares of the company's stock worth $836,000 after purchasing an additional 16,508 shares during the period. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 19.1% in the 4th quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 33,480 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,170,000 after purchasing an additional 5,359 shares during the period. Finally, abrdn plc boosted its holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 32.4% during the fourth quarter. abrdn plc now owns 401,501 shares of the company's stock worth $14,028,000 after buying an additional 98,227 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.86% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on IONS shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $47.00 to $45.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 24th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $70.00 price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Guggenheim cut their price objective on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $65.00 to $64.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Citigroup decreased their target price on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $67.00 to $64.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reduced their price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $60.00 to $55.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ionis Pharmaceuticals presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $56.67.

Insider Transactions at Ionis Pharmaceuticals

In related news, EVP Patrick R. O'neil sold 6,165 shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.62, for a total value of $194,937.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 57,452 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,816,632.24. The trade was a 9.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Brett P. Monia sold 38,843 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.65, for a total transaction of $1,229,380.95. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 180,683 shares in the company, 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. In the last three months, insiders have sold 47,035 shares of company stock worth $1,487,181. 2.71% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 3.4 %

Ionis Pharmaceuticals stock traded up $1.07 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $32.78. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,889,924 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,554,307. Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 1 year low of $23.95 and a 1 year high of $52.34. The company has a current ratio of 8.47, a quick ratio of 8.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.21 billion, a PE ratio of -10.78 and a beta of 0.29. The stock's fifty day moving average is $30.56 and its two-hundred day moving average is $33.64.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($1.07) by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $132.00 million during 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 company's quarterly revenue was up 10.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned ($0.98) EPS. On average, analysts anticipate 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.