J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG Invests $1.38 Million in Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. $IONS

J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG acquired a new stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 17,404 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,377,000.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Capital World Investors grew its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 1.5% during the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 12,722,728 shares of the company’s stock worth $832,321,000 after buying an additional 182,540 shares in the last quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. raised its holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 253.3% in 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 acquiring an additional 2,724,400 shares in the last quarter. Tweedy Browne Co LLC lifted its position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Tweedy Browne Co LLC now owns 2,901,216 shares of the company’s stock worth $189,798,000 after acquiring an additional 9,268 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 190.3% in the 3rd 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. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 45.9% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 1,154,166 shares of the company’s stock worth $75,506,000 after purchasing an additional 363,094 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.86% of the company’s stock.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of IONS opened at $75.13 on Thursday. Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 1 year low of $23.95 and a 1 year high of $86.74. The company has a current ratio of 3.83, a quick ratio of 3.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.76. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $78.69 and a 200-day simple moving average of $75.93. The stock has a market cap of $12.41 billion, a PE ratio of -30.79 and a beta of 0.40.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) last announced 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). Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 40.36% and a negative return on equity of 68.82%. The company had revenue of $203.33 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $156.07 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.66) EPS. Ionis Pharmaceuticals’s quarterly revenue was down 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -3.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

IONS has been the topic of a number of research reports. Barclays boosted their price objective on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $95.00 to $106.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday, December 3rd. HC Wainwright lifted their price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 25th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $73.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $92.84.

Insider Activity at Ionis Pharmaceuticals

In related news, EVP C Frank Bennett sold 85,089 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.93, for a total transaction of $7,056,430.77. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 80,293 shares in the company, valued at $6,658,698.49. This trade represents a 51.45% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Shannon L. Devers sold 44,199 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, 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 SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 1,035,882 shares of company stock valued at $80,492,247. Insiders own 2.60% of the company’s stock.

About Ionis Pharmaceuticals

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.