VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al Invests $839,000 in Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. $IONS

VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al purchased a new position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 10,600 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $839,000.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Capital World Investors boosted its holdings in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 12,722,728 shares of the company’s stock worth $832,321,000 after buying an additional 182,540 shares during the period. Tweedy Browne Co LLC boosted its stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Tweedy Browne Co LLC now owns 2,901,216 shares of the company’s stock valued at $189,798,000 after purchasing an additional 9,268 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA boosted its stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 1,418,491 shares of the company’s stock valued at $112,476,000 after purchasing an additional 25,367 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 190.3% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,372,225 shares of the company’s stock valued at $89,771,000 after purchasing an additional 899,476 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 45.9% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 1,154,166 shares of the company’s stock valued at $75,506,000 after purchasing an additional 363,094 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.86% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Elizabeth L. Hougen sold 215,048 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.40, for a total transaction of $15,569,475.20. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 92,832 shares in the company, valued at $6,721,036.80. The trade was a 69.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Kyle Jenne sold 37,277 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.85, for a total value of $2,827,460.45. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 11,714 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $888,506.90. The trade was a 76.09% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 616,371 shares of company stock valued at $46,406,452. Insiders own 2.71% of the company’s stock.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

NASDAQ:IONS opened at $74.23 on Monday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $74.23 and a 200-day moving average of $77.57. The company has a market capitalization of $12.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -35.86 and a beta of 0.38. Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 52 week low of $32.00 and a 52 week high of $86.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.75, a quick ratio of 4.09 and a current ratio of 4.10.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported ($0.56) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.85) by $0.29. Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 30.91% and a negative return on equity of 58.65%. The company had revenue of $246.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $195.57 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($0.93) EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 86.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -3.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on IONS shares. Canaccord Genuity Group assumed coverage on Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, April 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $110.00 target price for the company. Leerink Partners increased their price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $102.00 to $104.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Raymond James Financial assumed coverage on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, April 10th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $104.00 price target for the company. Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $87.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 27th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $100.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $99.35.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc is a biotechnology company focused on the discovery and development of RNA-targeted therapies designed to modulate gene expression. The company’s proprietary antisense oligonucleotide (ASO) technology enables the selective binding of short synthetic strands of nucleic acids to messenger RNA (mRNA), thereby inhibiting or altering the production of disease-causing proteins. Ionis’ pipeline spans a range of therapeutic areas, including neurological disorders, cardiovascular conditions, metabolic diseases and rare genetic disorders.

Since its founding in 1989 by Dr.