Tower Research Capital LLC TRC Increases Stock Position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS)

Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its holdings in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) by 229.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 14,157 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,856 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC’s holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals were worth $495,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of IONS. Natixis purchased a new stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at $581,000. Capital World Investors boosted its stake in shares of 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. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its holdings in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 77.7% in the fourth quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 19,900 shares of the company’s stock worth $696,000 after acquiring an additional 8,700 shares during the period. XTX Topco Ltd increased its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 50.9% during the fourth quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 25,362 shares of the company’s stock valued at $887,000 after acquiring an additional 8,557 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mariner LLC lifted its holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 19.6% in the fourth quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 27,661 shares of the company’s stock valued at $967,000 after acquiring an additional 4,534 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.86% of the company’s stock.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $29.81 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 8.47, a quick ratio of 8.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.12. Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 12 month low of $23.95 and a 12 month high of $52.34. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $30.58 and a 200 day moving average of $33.78. The firm has a market cap of $4.74 billion, a PE ratio of -9.81 and a beta of 0.29.

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

Insider Activity at Ionis Pharmaceuticals

In other news, CEO Brett P. Monia sold 13,242 shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The stock was 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Patrick R. O’neil sold 1,207 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.35, for a total value of $39,046.45. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 56,245 shares in the company, valued at $1,819,525.75. The trade was a 2.10 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 63,167 shares of company stock valued at $2,010,458. Insiders own 2.71% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on IONS shares. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $70.00 price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $60.00 price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $60.00 to $45.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company 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, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $47.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ionis Pharmaceuticals currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $56.72.

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.