Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) Holdings Raised by Rafferty Asset Management LLC

Rafferty Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) by 19.4% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 237,337 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 38,578 shares during the quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals were worth $8,297,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Signaturefd LLC lifted its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 160.0% in the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 949 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 584 shares in the last quarter. Huntington National Bank lifted its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 193.5% in the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 951 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 627 shares in the last quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 183.8% during the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 1,036 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 671 shares in the last quarter. Raiffeisen Bank International AG bought a new position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at $62,000. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at $107,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.86% of the company’s stock.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

NASDAQ:IONS opened at $33.56 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 8.47, a quick ratio of 8.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.34 billion, a PE ratio of -11.04 and a beta of 0.15. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $30.55 and its 200 day simple moving average is $33.20. Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 1 year low of $23.95 and a 1 year high of $52.34.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported ($0.93) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($1.07) by $0.14. The company had revenue of $132.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $144.31 million. Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 64.25% and a negative return on equity of 100.05%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 10.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted ($0.98) EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -3.5 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Michael R. Hayden purchased 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 1st. The shares were bought at an average cost of $31.86 per share, for a total transaction of $477,900.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 50,219 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,599,977.34. This trade represents a 42.59% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Patrick R. O’neil sold 1,207 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.35, for a total transaction of $39,046.45. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 56,245 shares in the company, valued at $1,819,525.75. This represents a 2.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 2,027 shares of company stock worth $62,863 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 2.60% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $70.00 price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $67.00 to $64.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 20th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Guggenheim cut their price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $65.00 to $64.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Needham & Company LLC cut their price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $60.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Ionis Pharmaceuticals has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $56.67.

About Ionis Pharmaceuticals

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.