Great Point Partners LLC Cuts Stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS)

Great Point Partners LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) by 22.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 255,000 shares of the company’s stock after selling 75,000 shares during the period. Ionis Pharmaceuticals comprises approximately 3.0% of Great Point Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest position. Great Point Partners LLC owned about 0.16% of Ionis Pharmaceuticals worth $10,215,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 8.7% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,443,020 shares of the company’s stock valued at $57,807,000 after acquiring an additional 114,914 shares during the period. ARK Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. ARK Investment Management LLC now owns 1,384,269 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,454,000 after buying an additional 23,244 shares during the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc raised its holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 6.1% during the 2nd quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 952,762 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,409,000 after buying an additional 54,400 shares during the last quarter. Candriam S.C.A. boosted its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 4.0% during the 2nd quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 948,266 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,192,000 after buying an additional 36,369 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 3,287.0% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 328,772 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,171,000 after acquiring an additional 319,065 shares during the last quarter. 93.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $45.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Guggenheim cut their price objective on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $70.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $60.00 target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, November 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $33.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $67.00 to $60.00 in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $60.65.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Brett P. Monia sold 6,630 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.05, for a total value of $252,271.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 167,393 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,369,303.65. This represents a 3.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Eric Swayze sold 1,194 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.92, for a total transaction of $45,276.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 33,713 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,278,396.96. This represents a 3.42 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 7,877 shares of company stock valued at $299,578 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 2.71% of the company’s stock.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 0.3 %

Ionis Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $35.37 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86, a current ratio of 8.91 and a quick ratio of 8.82. Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 12 month low of $33.33 and a 12 month high of $54.44. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $38.60 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $42.47.

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.