Carmignac Gestion Invests $3.98 Million in Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. $IONS

Carmignac Gestion bought a new position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 53,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,980,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 72.5% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 652,518 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,686,000 after buying an additional 274,310 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 6.4% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 659,435 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,895,000 after buying an additional 39,794 shares during the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth boosted its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 30.1% in the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 9,832 shares of the company’s stock worth $297,000 after buying an additional 2,277 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. acquired a new stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter worth about $220,000. Finally, Prudential Financial Inc. grew its holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 47.8% during the second quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 9,254 shares of the company’s stock worth $341,000 after acquiring an additional 2,991 shares during the period. 93.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $51.77 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 7.73, a current ratio of 7.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.07. Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a twelve month low of $40.03 and a twelve month high of $86.74. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $69.55 and a 200 day moving average price of $74.52. The firm has a market cap of $8.60 billion, a PE ratio of -14.96 and a beta of 0.41.

Key Stories Impacting Ionis Pharmaceuticals

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

• Positive Sentiment: Ionis beat Wall Street’s second-quarter revenue and earnings expectations, helped by commercial growth despite difficult year-over-year comparisons. Management also reaffirmed its 2026 outlook, supporting confidence in the company’s operating trajectory. Zacks Q2 earnings report
• Positive Sentiment: Director Michael R. Hayden bought 15,000 shares for approximately $800,700 on July 30 and another 5,000 shares for $258,000 on July 31. The purchases materially increased his ownership and may be viewed as a signal of confidence in Ionis’s valuation and prospects. SEC insider-trading filing
• Neutral Sentiment: Wells Fargo lowered its price target from $100 to $95 while maintaining an “overweight” rating. The reduced target reflects more cautious valuation expectations, but the rating remains bullish. Benzinga analyst report
• Neutral Sentiment: HC Wainwright cut its target from $125 to $115 but retained a “buy” rating, similarly indicating lower near-term valuation expectations while maintaining a positive view of the stock. StreetInsider analyst report
• Negative Sentiment: Pomerantz LLP announced an investigation into potential claims on behalf of Ionis investors. Although the announcement does not establish wrongdoing, it adds legal and reputational uncertainty and may weigh on sentiment. Pomerantz investor alert

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on IONS shares. Bank of America lifted their price target on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $100.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $69.00 price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $130.00 to $110.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $113.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Eighteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $94.85.

Insider Activity at Ionis Pharmaceuticals

In other news, EVP Eugene Schneider sold 26,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.05, for a total transaction of $2,107,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 77,114 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,250,089.70. This represents a 25.21% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP C Frank Bennett sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.46, for a total value of $1,281,900.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 75,018 shares in the company, valued at $6,411,038.28. This trade represents a 16.66% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 233,163 shares of company stock valued at $18,316,551 in the last ninety days. 1.81% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.