Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. $IONS Shares Sold by Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lessened its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) by 91.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 48,921 shares of the company’s stock after selling 496,299 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals were worth $3,870,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth about $2,340,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 66.1% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 862,593 shares of the company’s stock worth $56,431,000 after purchasing an additional 343,409 shares in the last quarter. Dynasty Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth about $938,000. Capricorn Fund Managers Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth about $10,650,000. Finally, Jain Global LLC increased its position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 3,037.4% during the third quarter. Jain Global LLC now owns 225,739 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,768,000 after purchasing an additional 218,544 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.86% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Ionis Pharmaceuticals

In related news, EVP Elizabeth L. Hougen sold 215,048 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.40, for a total value of $15,569,475.20. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 92,832 shares in the company, valued at $6,721,036.80. The trade was a 69.85% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Allene M. Diaz sold 54,878 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.35, for a total value of $4,354,569.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 3,811 shares in the company, valued at $302,402.85. This trade represents a 93.51% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 864,155 shares of company stock worth $67,020,422 over the last three months. 2.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on IONS. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $82.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $95.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 28th. TD Cowen lowered their target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $110.00 to $108.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group began coverage on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday, April 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $110.00 target price on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Ionis Pharmaceuticals has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $97.35.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of IONS stock opened at $73.27 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.10 billion, a PE ratio of -30.03 and a beta of 0.40. Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 52-week low of $28.87 and a 52-week high of $86.74. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $75.97 and its 200 day moving average price is $77.22. The company has a quick ratio of 3.81, a current ratio of 3.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.76.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The company reported ($1.41) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($1.23) by ($0.18). The company had revenue of $203.33 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $156.07 million. Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 40.36% and a negative return on equity of 68.82%. The business’s revenue was down 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned ($0.66) EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -4.14 EPS for the current year.

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.