Legal & General Group Plc Has $5.88 Million Stock Holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS)

Legal & General Group Plc reduced its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) by 1.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 168,080 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,206 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc owned about 0.11% of Ionis Pharmaceuticals worth $5,876,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Signaturefd LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 160.0% during the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 949 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 584 shares during the period. Huntington National Bank increased its holdings in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 193.5% in the fourth quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 951 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 627 shares during the last quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 183.8% in the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 1,036 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 671 shares during the period. Venturi Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth about $107,000. Finally, Vontobel Holding Ltd. grew its stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 6.6% in the 4th quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 5,865 shares of the company’s stock valued at $205,000 after buying an additional 363 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.86% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on IONS shares. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $60.00 price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. HC Wainwright assumed coverage on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, April 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $45.00 price target on the stock. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday, March 31st. They set a “neutral” rating and a $39.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $70.00 price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $56.72.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of IONS stock opened at $28.40 on Monday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $30.86 and its 200 day moving average is $34.18. The company has a market capitalization of $4.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.34 and a beta of 0.29. Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a one year low of $23.95 and a one year high of $52.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.12, a quick ratio of 8.82 and a current ratio of 8.47.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported ($0.66) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($1.12) by $0.46. The company had revenue of $227.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $140.97 million. Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 100.05% and a negative net margin of 64.25%. Ionis Pharmaceuticals’s revenue for the quarter was down 30.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.12 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -3.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ionis Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Patrick R. O’neil sold 6,165 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.62, for a total value of $194,937.30. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 57,452 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,816,632.24. This represents a 9.69 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Brett P. Monia sold 13,242 shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.45, for a total transaction of $429,702.90. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 219,526 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,123,618.70. The trade was a 5.69 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 63,167 shares of company stock valued at $2,010,458. 2.71% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.