223,470 Shares in Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) Purchased by Baker BROS. Advisors LP

Baker BROS. Advisors LP acquired a new stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 223,470 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,952,000. Baker BROS. Advisors LP owned about 0.14% of Ionis Pharmaceuticals as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in IONS. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 83.9% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 664 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 303 shares in the last quarter. nVerses Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals during 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 position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 35.8% in the second quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 911 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 240 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter valued at $40,000. Institutional investors own 93.86% of the company’s stock.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of IONS opened at $35.73 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86, a quick ratio of 8.82 and a current ratio of 8.91. Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $33.33 and a fifty-two week high of $54.44. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $38.07 and a 200-day moving average price of $42.36. The firm has a market cap of $5.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -14.64 and a beta of 0.39.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on IONS shares. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $82.00 to $77.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Guggenheim reduced their price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $70.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. StockNews.com cut shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $65.00 to $62.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $60.00 price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $60.65.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Brett P. Monia sold 6,630 shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.05, for a total value of $252,271.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 167,393 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,369,303.65. The trade was a 3.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Eric Swayze sold 1,194 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.92, for a total transaction of $45,276.48. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 33,713 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,278,396.96. The trade was a 3.42 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 7,877 shares of company stock valued at $299,578 over the last three months. Insiders own 2.71% of the company’s stock.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals 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.