Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. $IONS Stock: CenterBook Partners LP Raises Stake

CenterBook Partners LP lifted its stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) by 25.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 112,240 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 22,960 shares during the quarter. CenterBook Partners LP’s holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals were worth $5,012,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of IONS. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. boosted its stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 199.7% in the 2nd quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 1,417,916 shares of the company’s stock worth $112,427,000 after purchasing an additional 944,766 shares in the last quarter. Groupama Asset Managment increased its stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 7.5% during the 1st quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 824,540 shares of the company’s stock valued at $61,915,000 after purchasing an additional 57,651 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter valued at about $62,718,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. bought a new stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter valued at about $54,253,000. Finally, Eversept Partners LP increased its stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 17.4% during the 1st quarter. Eversept Partners LP now owns 632,100 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,464,000 after purchasing an additional 93,882 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.86% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $100.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 1st. Canaccord Genuity Group reduced their price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $95.00 to $85.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, September 8th. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, September 8th. Finally, Raymond James Financial set a $79.00 price objective on Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, October 20th. Nineteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $89.48.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Shannon Devers sold 1,357 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.54, for a total transaction of $59,083.78. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 17,811 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $775,490.94. This trade represents a 7.08% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. 1.81% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

NASDAQ IONS opened at $39.42 on Friday. Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a one year low of $38.31 and a one year high of $86.74. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $46.80 and a 200 day moving average of $65.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.07, a quick ratio of 7.73 and a current ratio of 7.89. The company has a market capitalization of $6.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -11.39 and a beta of 0.43.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Profile

Ionis Pharmaceuticals is a biotechnology company that discovers and develops RNA-targeted medicines, with a focus on antisense oligonucleotides. Its medicines are designed to act on RNA and change the production of proteins linked to disease. The company’s research and development programs span neurological, cardiovascular, metabolic and rare diseases.

Ionis has developed medicines that it commercializes itself and products advanced or marketed with pharmaceutical partners. Its medicines and partnered products include treatments for conditions such as spinal muscular atrophy and transthyretin amyloidosis.