Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) Stake Reduced by Comerica Bank

Comerica Bank reduced its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) by 30.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 7,393 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,222 shares during the quarter. Comerica Bank’s holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals were worth $258,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Xponance Inc. grew its stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 19,339 shares of the company’s stock worth $676,000 after buying an additional 318 shares during the last quarter. Amalgamated Bank boosted its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 10,292 shares of the company’s stock worth $360,000 after acquiring an additional 335 shares during the period. Vontobel Holding Ltd. boosted its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 6.6% during the 4th quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 5,865 shares of the company’s stock worth $205,000 after acquiring an additional 363 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC boosted its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 21,826 shares of the company’s stock worth $763,000 after acquiring an additional 373 shares during the period. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina boosted its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 68,803 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,405,000 after acquiring an additional 440 shares during the period. 93.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ionis Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Patrick R. O’neil sold 1,207 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.35, for a total value of $39,046.45. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 56,245 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,819,525.75. This trade represents a 2.10% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Michael R. Hayden bought 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 1st. The stock was bought at an average cost of $31.86 per share, with a total value of $477,900.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 50,219 shares in the company, valued at $1,599,977.34. This represents a 42.59% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 2,027 shares of company stock worth $62,863. 2.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on IONS shares. Citigroup reduced their price target on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $67.00 to $64.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Guggenheim reduced their price target on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $65.00 to $64.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $60.00 to $45.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $70.00 price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic started coverage on Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday, March 31st. They set a “neutral” rating and a $39.00 price target for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $56.67.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 1.7%

Shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $33.56 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $5.34 billion, a P/E ratio of -11.04 and a beta of 0.15. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $30.55 and a 200 day moving average price of $33.20. Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 1 year low of $23.95 and a 1 year high of $52.34. The company has a current ratio of 8.47, a quick ratio of 8.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.12.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported ($0.93) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($1.07) by $0.14. Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 100.05% and a negative net margin of 64.25%. The company had revenue of $132.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $144.31 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted ($0.98) EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 10.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -3.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Company 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.