Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) Stock Position Raised by Harbor Advisors LLC

Harbor Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) by 90.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,500 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 5,000 shares during the period. Harbor Advisors LLC’s holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals were worth $367,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. boosted its position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 40.9% in the third quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 1,081 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 314 shares during the period. Xponance Inc. boosted its position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 19,339 shares of the company’s stock worth $676,000 after buying an additional 318 shares during the period. Amalgamated Bank boosted its position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 10,292 shares of the company’s stock worth $360,000 after buying an additional 335 shares during the period. Vontobel Holding Ltd. boosted its position 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. Finally, Commonwealth Equity Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 21,826 shares of the company’s stock worth $763,000 after buying an additional 373 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.86% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Patrick R. O’neil sold 1,207 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.35, for a total transaction of $39,046.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Eric Swayze sold 7,154 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.84, for a total value of $234,937.36. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 45,670 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,499,802.80. This represents a 13.54 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 111,956 shares of company stock valued at $3,608,439. Insiders own 2.71% of the company’s stock.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:IONS opened at $32.91 on Friday. Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $30.23 and a fifty-two week high of $52.34. The business has a 50-day moving average of $32.62 and a two-hundred day moving average of $36.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.23 billion, a P/E ratio of -10.83 and a beta of 0.28. 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 (NASDAQ:IONS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported ($0.66) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.12) by $0.46. Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 100.05% and a negative net margin of 64.25%. The company had revenue of $227.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $140.97 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.12 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 30.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -3.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Citigroup decreased their target price on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $67.00 to $64.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, February 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $51.00 to $47.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. StockNews.com upgraded Ionis Pharmaceuticals to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $70.00 price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $59.56.

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.