KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Decreases Stock Holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS reduced its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) by 6.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 27,400 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,800 shares during the quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS’s holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals were worth $827,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Capital World Investors increased its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 46.5% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 11,465,413 shares of the company’s stock worth $400,831,000 after acquiring an additional 3,637,041 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth about $59,948,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 9.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 16,472,539 shares of the company’s stock worth $575,880,000 after purchasing an additional 1,416,781 shares during the period. Vestal Point Capital LP acquired a new position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at about $20,801,000. Finally, Orbimed Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 21.2% in the fourth quarter. Orbimed Advisors LLC now owns 2,817,347 shares of the company’s stock valued at $98,494,000 after acquiring an additional 492,900 shares during the last quarter. 93.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ionis Pharmaceuticals

In other Ionis Pharmaceuticals news, CEO Brett P. Monia sold 1,160 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.74, for a total value of $48,418.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 179,820 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,505,686.80. This represents a 0.64% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Michael R. Hayden acquired 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 1st. The stock was acquired at an average price of $31.86 per share, with a total value of $477,900.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 50,219 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,599,977.34. This represents a 42.59% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 2.71% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on IONS. Needham & Company LLC decreased their price target on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $60.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $45.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 12th. Barclays upgraded Ionis Pharmaceuticals from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $51.00 to $57.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. Guggenheim decreased their price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $65.00 to $64.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $50.00 price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $55.67.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 0.8%

Ionis Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $41.48 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $6.60 billion, a PE ratio of -13.87 and a beta of 0.23. Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a twelve month low of $23.95 and a twelve month high of $51.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.63, a quick ratio of 9.62 and a current ratio of 9.66. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $38.34 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $33.88.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported ($0.93) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($1.07) by $0.14. Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 91.85% and a negative net margin of 63.65%. The company had revenue of $132.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $144.31 million. During the same period last year, the company earned ($0.98) earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 10.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -3.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.