BLB&B Advisors LLC Has $7.76 Million Stock Holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. $IONS

BLB&B Advisors LLC decreased its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) by 21.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 118,600 shares of the company’s stock after selling 32,950 shares during the period. BLB&B Advisors LLC owned 0.07% of Ionis Pharmaceuticals worth $7,759,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. raised its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 253.3% in the second quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 3,800,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $150,138,000 after acquiring an additional 2,724,400 shares during the last quarter. Vestal Point Capital LP acquired a new stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter valued at approximately $19,755,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter valued at approximately $17,790,000. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 304.9% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 472,749 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,678,000 after purchasing an additional 355,981 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 66.1% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 862,593 shares of the company’s stock worth $56,431,000 after buying an additional 343,409 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.86% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on IONS. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $43.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 6th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $82.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC raised their target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $78.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $86.45.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Joseph H. Wender sold 28,000 shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.82, for a total transaction of $2,262,960.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 36,035 shares in the company, valued at $2,912,348.70. The trade was a 43.73% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Brett P. Monia sold 44,034 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.82, for a total value of $3,294,623.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 224,683 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,810,782.06. This represents a 16.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders sold 395,140 shares of company stock valued at $30,506,876. Company insiders own 2.60% of the company’s stock.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 2.1%

Shares of NASDAQ IONS opened at $80.04 on Friday. Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 52-week low of $23.95 and a 52-week high of $86.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 2.78 and a current ratio of 2.79. The stock has a market cap of $12.96 billion, a P/E ratio of -47.36 and a beta of 0.28. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $79.44 and a 200 day moving average price of $64.98.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The company reported ($0.80) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.15) by $0.35. Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 26.45% and a negative return on equity of 44.26%. The company had revenue of $156.72 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $131.75 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted ($0.95) earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 17.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -3.5 EPS for the current year.

Key Ionis Pharmaceuticals News

Here are the key news stories impacting Ionis Pharmaceuticals this week:

• Positive Sentiment: EU approval for Dawnzera (hereditary angioedema) expands Ionis’ commercial footprint after the prior U.S. clearance, increasing potential revenue and reinforcing the drug’s global launch narrative. This regulatory milestone supports longer-term sales upside and de-risks a marketed asset. Ionis’ Dawnzera Gets EU Approval for Hereditary Angioedema
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple insiders filed sales of Ionis shares today (large aggregate volumes from senior staff), which can be interpreted as profit-taking or signal reduced insider conviction and may pressure the stock in the near term. Key filings reported include sales by Brett Monia (44,034 shares), Elizabeth Hougen (12,922), Patrick O’Neil (9,191), Eugene Schneider (9,302), C. Frank Bennett (8,977), Brian Birchler (8,480), Shannon Devers (8,353), and two earlier smaller transactions. These are sizeable individual dispositions and bear watching for follow-on selling or the stated reasons in the filings (e.g., diversification, tax, option exercises).
  Brett Monia Sells 44,034 Shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) Stock
  Elizabeth Hougen Sells 12,922 Shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) Stock
  Patrick O’neil Sells 9,191 Shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) Stock
  Eugene Schneider Sells 9,302 Shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) Stock
  C Frank Bennett Sells 8,977 Shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) Stock
  Brian Birchler Sells 8,480 Shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) Stock
  Shannon Devers Sells 8,353 Shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) Stock
  Kyle Jenne Sells 1,823 Shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) Stock
  Holly Kordasiewicz Sells 4,141 Shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) Stock

About Ionis Pharmaceuticals

Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc is a biotechnology company focused on the discovery and development of RNA-targeted therapies designed to modulate gene expression. The company’s proprietary antisense oligonucleotide (ASO) technology enables the selective binding of short synthetic strands of nucleic acids to messenger RNA (mRNA), thereby inhibiting or altering the production of disease-causing proteins. Ionis’ pipeline spans a range of therapeutic areas, including neurological disorders, cardiovascular conditions, metabolic diseases and rare genetic disorders.

Since its founding in 1989 by Dr.