Driehaus Capital Management LLC Reduces Position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS)

Driehaus Capital Management LLC reduced its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) by 21.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 180,002 shares of the company’s stock after selling 49,967 shares during the quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals were worth $6,293,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital World Investors lifted its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 46.5% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 11,465,413 shares of the company’s stock worth $400,831,000 after acquiring an additional 3,637,041 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth $59,948,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 9.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 16,472,539 shares of the company’s stock valued at $575,880,000 after purchasing an additional 1,416,781 shares during the period. Aquatic Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter worth about $8,041,000. Finally, Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC purchased a new position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter worth about $7,447,000. Institutional investors own 93.86% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Michael R. Hayden acquired 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 1st. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $31.86 per share, with a total value of $477,900.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 50,219 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,599,977.34. This represents a 42.59 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Patrick R. O’neil sold 1,207 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.35, for a total value of $39,046.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 56,245 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,819,525.75. This trade represents a 2.10 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 2,027 shares of company stock valued at $62,863. Insiders own 2.71% of the company’s stock.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 1.5 %

Ionis Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $32.26 on Friday. Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 1-year low of $23.95 and a 1-year high of $52.34. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $30.59 and a 200-day moving average price of $33.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.12, a current ratio of 8.47 and a quick ratio of 8.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.61 and a beta of 0.15.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported ($0.93) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($1.07) by $0.14. Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 100.05% and a negative net margin of 64.25%. The business had revenue of $132.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $144.31 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($0.98) earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -3.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on IONS shares. Guggenheim dropped their target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $65.00 to $64.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price 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. Citigroup dropped their price target on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $67.00 to $64.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday, March 31st. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $39.00 price objective for the company. Finally, HC Wainwright raised their target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $56.67.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Company 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.