Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. $IONS Shares Sold by Great Lakes Advisors LLC

Great Lakes Advisors LLC cut its position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) by 53.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 186,950 shares of the company’s stock after selling 212,696 shares during the period. Great Lakes Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.12% of Ionis Pharmaceuticals worth $12,230,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in IONS. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Mather Group LLC. acquired a new stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth $27,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 620.2% in the third quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 713 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 614 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP raised its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 231.8% in the second quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 740 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 517 shares during the period. Finally, Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter valued at $88,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.86% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ionis Pharmaceuticals

In related news, EVP Eric Swayze sold 23,463 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.12, for a total value of $1,856,392.56. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 30,453 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,409,441.36. This trade represents a 43.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Shannon L. Devers sold 44,199 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.08, for a total transaction of $3,760,450.92. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 17,494 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,488,389.52. This trade represents a 71.64% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 277,891 shares of company stock valued at $21,730,823. 2.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

NASDAQ:IONS opened at $83.88 on Friday. Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 52 week low of $23.95 and a 52 week high of $86.15. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $80.12 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $65.93. The company has a quick ratio of 2.78, a current ratio of 2.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The company has a market cap of $13.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -49.63 and a beta of 0.28.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The company reported ($0.80) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($1.15) by $0.35. Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 44.26% and a negative net margin of 26.45%.The business had revenue of $156.72 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $131.75 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($0.95) earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -3.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on IONS shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $82.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Needham & Company LLC increased their target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $78.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Finally, HC Wainwright increased their price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ionis Pharmaceuticals presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $86.45.

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.