Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS – Free Report) by 590.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 185,967 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 159,026 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC owned about 0.11% of Ionis Pharmaceuticals worth $13,967,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of 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 worth $19,686,000 after purchasing an additional 274,310 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 6.4% during 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 raised its position in 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 acquiring an additional 2,277 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. bought a new stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter worth about $220,000. Finally, Prudential Financial Inc. boosted its stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 47.8% in the second quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 9,254 shares of the company’s stock valued at $341,000 after acquiring an additional 2,991 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.86% of the company’s stock.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on IONS shares. Needham & Company LLC reduced their target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $105.00 to $86.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Ionis Pharmaceuticals from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. Guggenheim decreased their target price on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $106.00 to $89.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Wolfe Research restated a “peer perform” rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Eighteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ionis Pharmaceuticals currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $95.90.
Ionis Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 1.2%
IONS stock opened at $54.01 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $72.35 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $75.82. Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a twelve month low of $40.03 and a twelve month high of $86.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.93 billion, a PE ratio of -26.09 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a quick ratio of 4.09, a current ratio of 4.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.75.
Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported ($0.56) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.85) by $0.29. The firm had revenue of $246.09 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $195.56 million. Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 30.91% and a negative return on equity of 58.65%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 86.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.93) earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -3.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In other news, CEO Brett P. Monia sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.59, for a total value of $4,029,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 245,571 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,790,566.89. This represents a 16.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Holly B. Kordasiewicz sold 362 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.30, for a total value of $30,516.60. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 22,096 shares in the company, valued at $1,862,692.80. This trade represents a 1.61% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 233,163 shares of company stock worth $18,316,551. Company insiders own 1.81% of the company’s stock.
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.
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