Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. lowered its stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) by 13.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 252,459 shares of the company’s stock after selling 40,014 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. owned 0.18% of Ionis Pharmaceuticals worth $12,772,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in IONS. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina boosted its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 62,532 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,836,000 after buying an additional 310 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 15,436 shares of the company’s stock valued at $700,000 after purchasing an additional 348 shares during the period. Mariner LLC grew its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 17,888 shares of the company’s stock valued at $811,000 after purchasing an additional 514 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 36,668 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,663,000 after purchasing an additional 530 shares during the period. Finally, Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners purchased a new position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. Institutional investors own 93.86% of the company’s stock.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

IONS stock opened at $41.07 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.18, a quick ratio of 5.83 and a current ratio of 5.90. The company has a market capitalization of $5.99 billion, a PE ratio of -16.04 and a beta of 0.39. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $43.67 and its 200-day moving average price is $47.30. Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a one year low of $34.32 and a one year high of $54.44.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 21st. The company reported ($0.06) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.78) by $0.72. Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 90.29% and a negative net margin of 46.32%. The company had revenue of $325.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $176.01 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned ($0.37) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 113.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ionis Pharmaceuticals news, CEO Brett P. Monia sold 2,285 shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.75, for a total value of $118,248.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 151,851 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,858,289.25. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Ionis Pharmaceuticals news, CEO Brett P. Monia sold 23,501 shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.37, for a total transaction of $1,160,244.37. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 174,138 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,597,193.06. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Brett P. Monia sold 2,285 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.75, for a total transaction of $118,248.75. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 151,851 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,858,289.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 51,434 shares of company stock worth $2,556,127. Insiders own 2.65% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on IONS shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Wolfe Research raised Ionis Pharmaceuticals from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $58.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Bank of America raised shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $52.00 to $62.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $56.08.

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.