GW&K Investment Management LLC Cuts Stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. $IONS

GW&K Investment Management LLC cut its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) by 41.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 264,007 shares of the company’s stock after selling 184,823 shares during the period. GW&K Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals were worth $17,271,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. lifted its holdings in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 253.3% during the 2nd quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 3,800,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $150,138,000 after buying an additional 2,724,400 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 190.3% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,372,225 shares of the company’s stock worth $89,771,000 after acquiring an additional 899,476 shares during the period. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership grew its holdings in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 150.8% in the third quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 890,072 shares of the company’s stock worth $58,229,000 after acquiring an additional 535,110 shares during the period. Vestal Point Capital LP purchased a new stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter valued at $19,755,000. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter valued at about $17,790,000. 93.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

IONS has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley set a $95.00 price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $73.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $87.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC increased their target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $90.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $89.00.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Ionis Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $74.04 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $81.06 and its 200-day moving average price is $73.12. The company has a quick ratio of 3.81, a current ratio of 3.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.76. The company has a market cap of $12.23 billion, a PE ratio of -30.34 and a beta of 0.31. Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a twelve month low of $23.95 and a twelve month high of $86.74.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The company reported ($1.41) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($1.23) by ($0.18). The company had revenue of $203.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $156.07 million. Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 68.82% and a negative net margin of 40.36%.The company’s revenue was down 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted ($0.66) EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -3.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Ionis Pharmaceuticals

In other Ionis Pharmaceuticals news, EVP C Frank Bennett sold 85,089 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.23, for a total value of $6,741,601.47. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 80,554 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,382,293.42. This represents a 51.37% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Shannon L. Devers sold 20,106 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.40, for a total value of $1,596,416.40. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 22,541 shares in the company, valued at $1,789,755.40. The trade was a 47.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 596,652 shares of company stock valued at $48,059,821. Company insiders own 2.60% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Ionis Pharmaceuticals

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

• Positive Sentiment: Broker upgrades and higher price targets are supporting upside sentiment — multiple firms recently raised ratings/targets (examples include Leerink and H.C. Wainwright), which can attract buyers and underpin the stock. Leerink Raises PT HC Wainwright Buy
• Positive Sentiment: An analyst raised Q1 EPS estimates for Ionis, which narrows short‑term earnings uncertainty and could support a re-rating if results confirm the revision. Q1 EPS Estimate Boosted
• Neutral Sentiment: Peer data flow — Biogen is presenting new SMA data this week. Positive competitor readouts can be a headwind for Ionis’ SMA-related programs or, alternatively, validate the market; implications are mixed for Ionis’ pipeline valuation. Biogen SMA Data
• Negative Sentiment: Significant insider selling by senior executives and a director is weighing on sentiment — EVP C. Frank Bennett sold ~85,089 shares, Director Allene Diaz sold ~54,878 shares and EVP Shannon Devers sold ~20,106 shares in early March; those large, concentrated disposals (multi‑million dollar amounts) often trigger investor concern about management conviction. Insider Sales
• Negative Sentiment: Fundamental headwinds remain — the most recent quarter missed EPS expectations (despite a revenue beat) and the company still projects negative full‑year earnings, keeping profitability and cash‑flow concerns front of mind for investors. Recent Earnings Recap

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Company 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.