Hsbc Holdings PLC Buys New Shares in Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS)

Hsbc Holdings PLC purchased a new position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm purchased 83,055 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,928,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Signaturefd LLC raised its position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 160.0% during the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 949 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 584 shares during the period. Huntington National Bank raised its holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 193.5% during the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 951 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 627 shares during the period. Lindbrook Capital LLC raised its holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 183.8% during the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 1,036 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 671 shares during the period. Venturi Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at about $107,000. Finally, Vontobel Holding Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 6.6% in the fourth quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 5,865 shares of the company’s stock worth $205,000 after buying an additional 363 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.86% of the company’s stock.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of IONS opened at $29.81 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.12, a current ratio of 8.47 and a quick ratio of 8.82. Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a one year low of $23.95 and a one year high of $52.34. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $30.58 and its 200 day moving average price is $33.78. The company has a market capitalization of $4.74 billion, a PE ratio of -9.81 and a beta of 0.29.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported ($0.66) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($1.12) by $0.46. The business had revenue of $227.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $140.97 million. Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 100.05% and a negative net margin of 64.25%. The firm’s revenue was down 30.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.12 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -3.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Ionis Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Patrick R. O’neil sold 1,207 shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.35, for a total transaction of $39,046.45. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 56,245 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,819,525.75. The trade was a 2.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Brett P. Monia sold 38,843 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.65, for a total value of $1,229,380.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 180,683 shares of the company’s stock, 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. Over the last three months, insiders sold 63,167 shares of company stock valued at $2,010,458. 2.71% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on IONS. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $70.00 price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, February 20th. HC Wainwright began coverage on Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday, April 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $45.00 target price for the company. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $60.00 to $45.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $60.00 price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ionis Pharmaceuticals currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $56.72.

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.