Tidal Investments LLC Increases Stock Position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. $IONS

Tidal Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) by 42.8% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 49,178 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 14,746 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC’s holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals were worth $3,899,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital World Investors grew its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 41.2% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 17,961,299 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,420,918,000 after purchasing an additional 5,238,571 shares in the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 8,029.6% during the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 14,347,446 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,137,609,000 after buying an additional 14,170,961 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,148,849 shares of the company’s stock worth $249,158,000 after buying an additional 82,560 shares during the last quarter. Baker BROS. Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 216.1% in the 4th quarter. Baker BROS. Advisors LP now owns 1,791,841 shares of the company’s stock worth $141,753,000 after buying an additional 1,225,043 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pictet Asset Management Holding SA grew its holdings in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 1.2% in the first quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 1,434,995 shares of the company’s stock valued at $107,077,000 after acquiring an additional 16,504 shares in the last quarter. 93.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 5.1%

NASDAQ:IONS opened at $51.44 on Tuesday. Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 1 year low of $50.01 and a 1 year high of $86.74. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $58.17 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $69.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.07, a current ratio of 7.89 and a quick ratio of 7.73. The company has a market cap of $8.55 billion, a P/E ratio of -14.87 and a beta of 0.42.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ionis Pharmaceuticals

In related news, EVP Holly Kordasiewicz sold 362 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.30, for a total transaction of $30,516.60. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 22,096 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,862,692.80. This represents a 1.61% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Eugene Schneider sold 26,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.05, for a total value of $2,107,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 77,114 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,250,089.70. This represents a 25.21% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 156,317 shares of company stock worth $12,656,566 in the last three months. 1.81% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on IONS. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price target on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $100.00 to $85.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Leerink Partners boosted their price objective on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $122.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $100.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $61.00 to $54.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, September 8th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $84.00 target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, September 8th. Seventeen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $91.25.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc is a biotechnology company that discovers and develops medicines using antisense technology, which is designed to target RNA and influence the production of disease-related proteins. The company focuses on neurological, cardiovascular, metabolic and other serious diseases for which there remains a significant unmet medical need.

Ionis has developed several approved therapies, including SPINRAZA (nusinersen) for spinal muscular atrophy, QALSODY (tofersen) for a form of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, TEGSEDI (inotersen) for hereditary transthyretin-mediated amyloidosis and WAYLIVRA (volanesorsen) for familial chylomicronemia syndrome in certain markets.