Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) Shares Acquired by Nicola Wealth Management LTD.

Nicola Wealth Management LTD. lifted its position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) by 17.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 87,000 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 13,000 shares during the period. Nicola Wealth Management LTD.’s holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals were worth $3,485,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in IONS. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 83.9% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 664 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 303 shares during the last quarter. nVerses Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter worth $29,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter worth $37,000. Mather Group LLC. grew its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 35.8% in the second quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 911 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 240 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter worth $40,000. 93.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 0.5 %

Ionis Pharmaceuticals stock traded down $0.18 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $37.60. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 193,896 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,307,251. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $40.09 and its 200 day moving average is $42.84. The company has a market cap of $5.94 billion, a PE ratio of -15.37 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86, a current ratio of 8.91 and a quick ratio of 8.82. Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 52-week low of $35.95 and a 52-week high of $54.44.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

IONS has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. StockNews.com cut Ionis Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday. BMO Capital Markets cut Ionis Pharmaceuticals from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $67.00 to $60.00 in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Leerink Partners raised Ionis Pharmaceuticals from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $53.00 to $62.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $60.00 price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $70.00 target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $60.65.

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.