Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) Shares Bought by Rhumbline Advisers

Rhumbline Advisers lifted its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) by 7.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 176,685 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 11,522 shares during the quarter. Rhumbline Advisers owned approximately 0.12% of Ionis Pharmaceuticals worth $6,315,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. grew its position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 173.9% during the first quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 934 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 593 shares in the last quarter. Almanack Investment Partners LLC. acquired a new stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth approximately $44,000. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter worth approximately $44,000. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise grew its position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 219.8% during the fourth quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise now owns 1,279 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 879 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors grew its position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 21.1% during the second quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 1,429 shares of the company’s stock worth $53,000 after buying an additional 249 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.86% of the company’s stock.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

IONS stock opened at $39.79 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.07, a quick ratio of 9.00 and a current ratio of 9.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -18.34 and a beta of 0.51. Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 1 year low of $32.69 and a 1 year high of $48.82. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $40.51 and its two-hundred day moving average is $38.51.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 9th. The company reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.94) by $1.54. Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 59.17% and a negative net margin of 48.81%. The company had revenue of $188.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $136.84 million. On average, research analysts predict that Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -3.35 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Ionis Pharmaceuticals

In related news, Director Allene M. Diaz sold 657 shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.05, for a total transaction of $26,969.85. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 12,676 shares in the company, valued at $520,349.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Ionis Pharmaceuticals news, CEO Brett P. Monia sold 18,650 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.25, for a total value of $787,962.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 121,724 shares in the company, valued at $5,142,839. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Allene M. Diaz sold 657 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.05, for a total transaction of $26,969.85. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 12,676 shares in the company, valued at $520,349.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 22,862 shares of company stock worth $964,242 over the last ninety days. 2.65% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on IONS shares. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, August 17th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $60.00 price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, August 10th. Finally, Citigroup raised shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $36.00 to $60.00 in a report on Monday, July 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $47.80.

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.