GAMMA Investing LLC Acquires New Shares in Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS)

GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor bought 500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of IONS. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners bought a new stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Peoples Bank KS purchased a new position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter valued at approximately $39,000. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 95.7% during the third quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 3,670 shares of the company’s stock valued at $166,000 after purchasing an additional 1,795 shares during the period. Mitchell & Pahl Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $210,000. Finally, Sherbrooke Park Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter valued at $224,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.86% of the company’s stock.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $40.93 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 5.83, a current ratio of 5.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.18. Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 52 week low of $34.79 and a 52 week high of $54.44. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $42.86 and its 200-day simple moving average is $46.92. The company has a market capitalization of $5.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -15.99 and a beta of 0.41.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 21st. The company reported ($0.06) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.78) by $0.72. The business had revenue of $325.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $176.01 million. Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 90.29% and a negative net margin of 46.32%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 113.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($0.37) EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -3.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Ionis Pharmaceuticals

In other Ionis Pharmaceuticals news, Director Joseph Klein III sold 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.71, for a total value of $256,260.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 16,346 shares in the company, valued at approximately $698,137.66. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Ionis Pharmaceuticals news, Director Joseph Klein III sold 6,000 shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.71, for a total value of $256,260.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 16,346 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $698,137.66. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Joseph Baroldi sold 4,006 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.60, for a total value of $166,649.60. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 19,631 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $816,649.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 10,393 shares of company stock valued at $440,127. Corporate insiders own 2.65% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $60.00 target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $57.67.

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.