Swiss National Bank Has $9.76 Million Stock Holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS)

Swiss National Bank raised its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) by 8.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 279,200 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 22,600 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals were worth $9,761,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Baker BROS. Advisors LP bought a new stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter valued at $8,952,000. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 7.4% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,668,358 shares of the company’s stock worth $106,922,000 after purchasing an additional 183,814 shares in the last quarter. Sovran Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter worth about $5,617,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 967.2% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 141,917 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,961,000 after purchasing an additional 128,619 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 8.7% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,443,020 shares of the company’s stock worth $57,807,000 after purchasing an additional 114,914 shares in the last quarter. 93.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Brett P. Monia sold 33,445 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.63, for a total value of $1,091,310.35. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 207,396 shares in the company, valued at $6,767,331.48. This trade represents a 13.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Michael R. Hayden bought 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 23rd. The stock was bought at an average price of $36.22 per share, for a total transaction of $181,100.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 35,219 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,275,632.18. This represents a 16.55 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 111,956 shares of company stock worth $3,608,439. Corporate insiders own 2.71% of the company’s stock.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ:IONS opened at $32.91 on Friday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $32.62 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $36.34. The firm has a market cap 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 quick ratio of 8.82 and a current ratio of 8.47. Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 52-week low of $30.23 and a 52-week high of $52.34.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported ($0.66) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($1.12) by $0.46. The business had revenue of $227.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $140.97 million. Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 100.05% and a negative net margin of 64.25%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 30.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.12 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -3.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

IONS has been the subject of several recent research reports. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, December 20th. StockNews.com raised Ionis Pharmaceuticals to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday. 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, February 20th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $70.00 price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price target on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $67.00 to $64.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $59.56.

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.