Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC Makes New $7.45 Million Investment in Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS)

Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 213,015 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,447,000.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Xponance Inc. grew its stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 19,339 shares of the company’s stock valued at $676,000 after acquiring an additional 318 shares in the last quarter. Amalgamated Bank grew its holdings in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 10,292 shares of the company’s stock valued at $360,000 after acquiring an additional 335 shares in the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 6.6% in the fourth quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 5,865 shares of the company’s stock worth $205,000 after acquiring an additional 363 shares during the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 21,826 shares of the company’s stock worth $763,000 after acquiring an additional 373 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina boosted its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 68,803 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,405,000 after purchasing an additional 440 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.86% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $47.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 24th. StockNews.com raised shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Redburn Atlantic began coverage on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, March 31st. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $39.00 target price for the company. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $67.00 to $64.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ionis Pharmaceuticals has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $56.72.

Insider Activity at Ionis Pharmaceuticals

In related news, EVP Patrick R. O’neil sold 1,207 shares of the company’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 directly owns 56,245 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,819,525.75. This represents a 2.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Eric Swayze sold 1,367 shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.31, for a total transaction of $44,167.77. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 48,017 shares in the company, valued at $1,551,429.27. This represents a 2.77 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 63,167 shares of company stock worth $2,010,458. Company insiders own 2.71% of the company’s stock.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of IONS stock opened at $29.70 on Monday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $30.68 and a 200-day moving average of $33.87. The firm has a market cap of $4.72 billion, a PE ratio of -9.77 and a beta of 0.29. The company has a quick ratio of 8.82, a current ratio of 8.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.12. Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 12 month low of $23.95 and a 12 month high of $52.34.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported ($0.66) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($1.12) by $0.46. The firm had revenue of $227.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $140.97 million. Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 64.25% and a negative return on equity of 100.05%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 30.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.12 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -3.5 EPS for the current year.

About Ionis Pharmaceuticals

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.