Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) Shares Sold by Artisan Partners Limited Partnership

Artisan Partners Limited Partnership trimmed its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) by 88.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 252,635 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,987,820 shares during the quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership owned about 0.16% of Ionis Pharmaceuticals worth $8,832,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 5.9% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 18,350 shares of the company’s stock worth $735,000 after purchasing an additional 1,020 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 94.8% in the 3rd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 2,674 shares of the company’s stock worth $107,000 after acquiring an additional 1,301 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 21.0% in the 3rd quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 6,140 shares of the company’s stock worth $246,000 after acquiring an additional 1,066 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 8.7% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,443,020 shares of the company’s stock worth $57,807,000 after acquiring an additional 114,914 shares during the period. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 12.4% during the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 308,947 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,376,000 after purchasing an additional 34,097 shares in the last quarter. 93.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ionis Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Patrick R. O’neil sold 1,207 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.35, for a total transaction of $39,046.45. Following 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Brett P. Monia sold 33,445 shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.63, for a total transaction of $1,091,310.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 207,396 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,767,331.48. This trade represents a 13.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 111,956 shares of company stock valued at $3,608,439. Insiders own 2.71% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on IONS shares. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $67.00 to $64.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 20th. StockNews.com raised Ionis Pharmaceuticals to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, December 20th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $70.00 price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $47.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Ionis Pharmaceuticals has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $59.44.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of IONS opened at $31.15 on Friday. Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 1 year low of $30.23 and a 1 year high of $52.34. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $32.53 and its 200 day simple moving average is $35.80. The company has a market capitalization of $4.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.25 and a beta of 0.28. 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 (NASDAQ:IONS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported ($0.66) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.12) by $0.46. The company had revenue of $227.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $140.97 million. Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 100.05% and a negative net margin of 64.25%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 30.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.12 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -3.5 EPS for the current year.

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.