Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) Shares Sold by Clearbridge Investments LLC

Clearbridge Investments LLC lowered its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) by 4.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,618,220 shares of the company’s stock after selling 84,173 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC owned approximately 1.02% of Ionis Pharmaceuticals worth $56,573,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of IONS. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at $59,948,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 9.4% in 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 last quarter. Baker BROS. Advisors LP acquired a new stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter worth about $8,952,000. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 7.4% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,668,358 shares of the company’s stock valued at $106,922,000 after buying an additional 183,814 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sovran Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at about $5,617,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.86% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Patrick R. O’neil sold 6,165 shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.62, for a total transaction of $194,937.30. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 57,452 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,816,632.24. This trade represents a 9.69 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Brett P. Monia sold 38,843 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.65, for a total transaction of $1,229,380.95. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 180,683 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,718,616.95. The trade was a 17.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 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

IONS has been the topic of several analyst reports. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, December 20th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $70.00 price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $60.00 to $45.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $58.37.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:IONS opened at $30.17 on Tuesday. Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 12 month low of $29.61 and a 12 month high of $52.34. The business has a 50-day moving average of $32.50 and a two-hundred day moving average of $35.63. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $4.80 billion, a PE ratio of -9.92 and a beta of 0.28.

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

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.