Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) Shares Sold by Ghisallo Capital Management LLC

Ghisallo Capital Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) by 75.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 100,000 shares of the company’s stock after selling 300,000 shares during the period. Ghisallo Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals were worth $3,496,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Capital World Investors boosted its holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 46.5% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 11,465,413 shares of the company’s stock worth $400,831,000 after buying an additional 3,637,041 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $59,948,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 9.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 16,472,539 shares of the company’s stock worth $575,880,000 after acquiring an additional 1,416,781 shares during the last quarter. Sovran Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth approximately $5,617,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake 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 valued at $4,961,000 after purchasing an additional 128,619 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.86% of the company’s stock.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Ionis Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $29.70 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $30.68 and its 200-day simple moving average is $33.93. 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 1 year low of $23.95 and a 1 year high of $52.34. The company has a market capitalization of $4.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.77 and a beta of 0.29.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $60.00 to $45.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 20th. HC Wainwright started coverage on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday, April 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $45.00 price objective for the company. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $67.00 to $64.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. StockNews.com upgraded Ionis Pharmaceuticals to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $56.72.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Brett P. Monia sold 13,242 shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.45, for a total value of $429,702.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 219,526 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,123,618.70. The trade was a 5.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Elizabeth L. Hougen sold 1,523 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.44, for a total value of $49,406.12. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 110,500 shares in the company, valued at $3,584,620. This represents a 1.36 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 63,167 shares of company stock valued at $2,010,458. Corporate 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.