Artia Global Partners LP Boosts Position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. $IONS

Artia Global Partners LP boosted its holdings in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) by 139.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 144,376 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 84,200 shares during the quarter. Ionis Pharmaceuticals accounts for about 1.6% of Artia Global Partners LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest holding. Artia Global Partners LP owned about 0.09% of Ionis Pharmaceuticals worth $11,422,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Baker BROS. Advisors LP raised its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 216.1% during 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. Bamco Inc. NY increased its holdings in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 44.0% during the 4th quarter. Bamco Inc. NY now owns 36,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,848,000 after purchasing an additional 11,000 shares in the last quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 6.7% during the 4th quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC now owns 37,709 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,983,000 after purchasing an additional 2,352 shares in the last quarter. ADAR1 Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 9.9% during the 4th quarter. ADAR1 Capital Management LLC now owns 147,130 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,639,000 after purchasing an additional 13,312 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 175.3% during the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 18,762 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,477,000 after purchasing an additional 11,947 shares in the last quarter. 93.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Ionis Pharmaceuticals

In related news, EVP Brian Birchler sold 973 shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.04, for a total value of $73,013.92. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 67,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,065,200. This trade represents a 1.42% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, EVP Kyle Jenne sold 4,902 shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.17, for a total transaction of $368,483.34. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 23,713 shares in the company, valued at $1,782,506.21. This represents a 17.13% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders have sold 93,914 shares of company stock worth $6,941,424 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.81% of the company’s stock.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Ionis Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $74.31 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $74.89 and its 200 day moving average price is $77.59. Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 1 year low of $36.11 and a 1 year high of $86.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.28 billion, a P/E ratio of -35.90 and a beta of 0.37. 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 results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported ($0.56) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $246.09 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $195.57 million. During the same quarter last year, the company 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 -3.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

IONS has been the subject of several recent research reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $111.00 target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, April 30th. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $125.00 target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Bank of America lifted their target price 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. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group initiated coverage on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday, April 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $110.00 target price for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ionis Pharmaceuticals currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $101.80.

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.