Ground Swell Capital LLC Purchases New Position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. $IONS

Ground Swell Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 7,285 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $547,000. Ionis Pharmaceuticals makes up 1.1% of Ground Swell Capital LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 19th largest holding.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 14.9% during the first quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 33,673 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,529,000 after buying an additional 4,357 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 89.5% in the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 63,295 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,753,000 after acquiring an additional 29,886 shares in the last quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 23.7% in the 4th quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 2,726 shares of the company’s stock worth $216,000 after acquiring an additional 523 shares in the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC grew its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 3,184.3% during the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 216,438 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,122,000 after acquiring an additional 209,848 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Axxcess Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth approximately $228,000. 93.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on IONS shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Needham & Company LLC boosted their price objective on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $103.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 25th. Barclays increased their target price on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $106.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Raymond James Financial assumed coverage on Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, April 10th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $104.00 target price for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $95.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $102.90.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

IONS opened at $81.18 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.75, a current ratio of 4.10 and a quick ratio of 4.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.42 billion, a P/E ratio of -39.22 and a beta of 0.37. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $75.03 and its 200-day simple moving average is $77.36. Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a one year low of $39.37 and a one year high of $86.74.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported ($0.56) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.85) by $0.29. Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 30.91% and a negative return on equity of 58.65%. The firm had revenue of $246.09 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $195.56 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($0.93) EPS. Ionis Pharmaceuticals’s revenue was up 86.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -3.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Holly B. Kordasiewicz sold 60,846 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.41, for a total transaction of $4,466,704.86. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 22,458 shares in the company, valued at $1,648,641.78. The trade was a 73.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Spencer R. Berthelsen sold 8,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.49, for a total value of $587,920.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 156,013 shares in the company, valued at $11,465,395.37. This trade represents a 4.88% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders sold 190,153 shares of company stock worth $14,606,373. 1.81% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Ionis Pharmaceuticals this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Ionis received FDA approval expanding TRYNGOLZA to treat severe hypertriglyceridemia, strengthening the drug’s commercial opportunity and making it the first approved therapy for the condition. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Ionis announced a licensing deal with Recordati for ex-U.S. rights to zilganersen in Alexander disease, which provides upfront and royalty potential while allowing Ionis to keep U.S. commercialization rights. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Leerink Partners raised its price target on Ionis, signaling continued analyst confidence in the company’s pipeline and commercial execution. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: HC Wainwright kept a Buy rating but lowered some 2027 EPS estimates, which is a mild headwind but not a major shift in the firm’s overall view. Article Title

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc is a biotechnology company focused on the discovery and development of RNA-targeted therapies designed to modulate gene expression. The company’s proprietary antisense oligonucleotide (ASO) technology enables the selective binding of short synthetic strands of nucleic acids to messenger RNA (mRNA), thereby inhibiting or altering the production of disease-causing proteins. Ionis’ pipeline spans a range of therapeutic areas, including neurological disorders, cardiovascular conditions, metabolic diseases and rare genetic disorders.

Since its founding in 1989 by Dr.