Virtus Investment Advisers LLC Has $493,000 Stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. $IONS

Virtus Investment Advisers LLC lifted its stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) by 28.6% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 12,476 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,775 shares during the quarter. Virtus Investment Advisers LLC’s holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals were worth $493,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in IONS. Castle Rock Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter valued at $215,000. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter valued at $1,488,000. Exome Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 121.0% in the first quarter. Exome Asset Management LLC now owns 135,616 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,092,000 after purchasing an additional 74,249 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. increased its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 40.8% in the 1st quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 148,690 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,486,000 after purchasing an additional 43,071 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wedmont Private Capital purchased a new stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter worth about $226,000. 93.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ionis Pharmaceuticals

In related news, CEO Brett P. Monia sold 203,814 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.32, for a total transaction of $12,294,060.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 180,009 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,858,142.88. The trade was a 53.10% 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 Richard S. Geary sold 89,249 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.11, for a total value of $6,703,492.39. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 59,657 shares in the company, valued at $4,480,837.27. This trade represents a 59.94% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 930,139 shares of company stock worth $60,372,435 in the last ninety days. 2.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

IONS has been the subject of several recent research reports. Wall Street Zen cut Ionis Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 1st. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $70.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the company from $40.00 to $70.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $77.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $84.15.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 0.1%

NASDAQ:IONS opened at $82.75 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $71.72 and its 200-day moving average is $52.72. The company has a quick ratio of 2.86, a current ratio of 2.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 12 month low of $23.95 and a 12 month high of $82.95. The firm has a market cap of $13.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -48.96 and a beta of 0.33.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The company reported ($0.80) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.15) by $0.35. The business had revenue of $156.72 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $131.75 million. Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 26.45% and a negative return on equity of 45.29%. Ionis Pharmaceuticals’s revenue was up 17.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted ($0.95) EPS. Ionis Pharmaceuticals has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -3.5 EPS for the current year.

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.