Carmignac Gestion Purchases 268,000 Shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. $IONS

Carmignac Gestion raised its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) by 505.7% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 321,000 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 268,000 shares during the period. Carmignac Gestion’s holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals were worth $25,452,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. California State Teachers Retirement System increased its position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 8,029.6% in the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 14,347,446 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,137,609,000 after buying an additional 14,170,961 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors lifted its holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 41.2% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 17,961,299 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,420,918,000 after acquiring an additional 5,238,571 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 19,941.6% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,321,345 shares of the company’s stock worth $104,532,000 after acquiring an additional 1,314,752 shares in the last quarter. Baker BROS. Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 216.1% during the fourth quarter. Baker BROS. Advisors LP now owns 1,791,841 shares of the company’s stock worth $141,753,000 after purchasing an additional 1,225,043 shares during the period. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP raised its position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 7,219.3% during the third quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 958,829 shares of the company’s stock worth $62,727,000 after purchasing an additional 945,729 shares during the period. 93.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on IONS. Citigroup lowered their target price on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $115.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $100.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Leerink Partners increased their price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $122.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $110.00 to $104.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $86.00 target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday. Seventeen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $91.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ionis Pharmaceuticals news, CEO Brett P. Monia sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.59, for a total value of $4,029,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 245,571 shares in the company, valued at $19,790,566.89. This trade represents a 16.92% 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 link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Eugene Schneider sold 26,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.05, for a total value of $2,107,300.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 77,114 shares in the company, valued at $6,250,089.70. This trade represents a 25.21% 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. Insiders have sold 225,163 shares of company stock worth $17,711,191 over the last three months. Company insiders own 1.81% of the company’s stock.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts maintain bullish ratings: HC Wainwright lowered its price target from $115 to $100 but retained a “buy” rating. Canaccord Genuity also cut its target from $95 to $85 while maintaining a “buy” rating. The revised targets still imply substantial upside, signaling that analysts view the selloff as potentially excessive. Benzinga analyst price target reports
• Neutral Sentiment: ZANVASTRO launch plans remain a potential catalyst: Ionis discussed the FDA approval and commercialization strategy for ZANVASTRO in Alexander disease. The program could provide a future growth opportunity, although investors are likely focused more immediately on the pelacarsen setback. Ionis discusses ZANVASTRO approval and launch strategy
• Negative Sentiment: Pelacarsen failed its Phase 3 primary endpoint: The cardiovascular outcomes study, conducted with partner Novartis, failed to show that pelacarsen reduced cardiovascular events. The result clouds the drug’s commercial prospects and removes a potentially significant value driver for Ionis, prompting the sharp decline in the shares. Ionis shares fall after pelacarsen trial misses endpoint
• Negative Sentiment: Broader biotech and market pressure added to the selling: Novartis’ sharp decline following the pelacarsen failure affected its biotech partners, including Ionis. Lower U.S. stock futures and concern about other cardiovascular drug programs, including Amgen’s olpasiran, further weakened sentiment across the sector. Novartis trial failures ripple across biotech partners

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 2.4%

Ionis Pharmaceuticals stock traded down $1.38 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $56.71. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 9,175,268 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,460,345. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.07, a quick ratio of 7.73 and a current ratio of 7.89. Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 12 month low of $50.01 and a 12 month high of $86.74. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $60.80 and its 200 day simple moving average is $70.32. The company has a market capitalization of $9.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -16.39 and a beta of 0.42.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals 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.