Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) Shares Sold by Nikko Asset Management Americas Inc.

Nikko Asset Management Americas Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) by 20.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 156,657 shares of the company’s stock after selling 39,457 shares during the quarter. Nikko Asset Management Americas Inc.’s holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals were worth $5,472,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of IONS. Signaturefd LLC boosted its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 160.0% during the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 949 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 584 shares during the last quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC raised its stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 183.8% during the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 1,036 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 671 shares during the period. Prospera Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth about $42,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. raised its stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 40.9% during the third quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 1,081 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 314 shares during the period. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth about $51,000. 93.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Patrick R. O’neil sold 1,207 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.35, for a total value of $39,046.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 56,245 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,819,525.75. This represents a 2.10 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Brett P. Monia sold 38,843 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.65, for a total transaction of $1,229,380.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 180,683 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,718,616.95. The trade was a 17.69 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 111,956 shares of company stock worth $3,608,439 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 2.71% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on IONS. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $70.00 target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $60.00 to $45.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $60.00 target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $67.00 to $64.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ionis Pharmaceuticals has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $59.56.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of IONS opened at $32.96 on Monday. Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $30.23 and a fifty-two week high of $52.34. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $32.71 and its 200 day moving average price is $36.70. The company has a market cap of $5.24 billion, a P/E ratio of -10.84 and a beta of 0.28. The company has a quick ratio of 8.82, a current ratio of 8.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.12.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported ($0.66) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($1.12) by $0.46. Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 64.25% and a negative return on equity of 100.05%. The company had revenue of $227.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $140.97 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.12 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 30.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -3.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Profile

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.