Sector Gamma AS Has $7.34 Million Stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS)

Sector Gamma AS reduced its holdings in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) by 12.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 145,012 shares of the company’s stock after selling 20,604 shares during the period. Ionis Pharmaceuticals accounts for approximately 1.8% of Sector Gamma AS’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest holding. Sector Gamma AS owned approximately 0.10% of Ionis Pharmaceuticals worth $7,336,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. HealthInvest Partners AB purchased a new stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,226,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,242,307 shares of the company’s stock worth $56,351,000 after purchasing an additional 43,087 shares during the last quarter. Trexquant Investment LP increased its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 75.2% during the 3rd quarter. Trexquant Investment LP now owns 183,349 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,317,000 after purchasing an additional 78,724 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth approximately $9,329,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC increased its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 113.3% during the 3rd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 41,571 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,886,000 after purchasing an additional 22,078 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.86% of the company’s stock.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of IONS stock traded down $0.25 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $41.59. The stock had a trading volume of 556,093 shares, compared to its average volume of 856,032. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $43.28 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $47.16. Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 52-week low of $34.32 and a 52-week high of $54.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.06 billion, a PE ratio of -16.25 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a current ratio of 5.90, a quick ratio of 5.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.18.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 21st. The company reported ($0.06) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.78) by $0.72. Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 46.32% and a negative return on equity of 90.29%. The company had revenue of $325.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $176.01 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned ($0.37) earnings per share. Ionis Pharmaceuticals’s quarterly revenue was up 113.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -3.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on IONS. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 24th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $60.00 price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Wolfe Research raised shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $58.00 price target for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $56.08.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Brett P. Monia sold 23,501 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.37, for a total value of $1,160,244.37. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 174,138 shares in the company, valued at $8,597,193.06. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, CEO Brett P. Monia sold 23,501 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.37, for a total transaction of $1,160,244.37. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 174,138 shares in the company, valued at $8,597,193.06. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Joseph Baroldi sold 4,006 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.60, for a total transaction of $166,649.60. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 19,631 shares in the company, valued at approximately $816,649.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 42,699 shares of company stock valued at $2,104,091 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 2.65% of the company’s stock.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

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.