GSA Capital Partners LLP Invests $665,000 in Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. $IONS

GSA Capital Partners LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm acquired 10,172 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $665,000.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 72.5% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 652,518 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,686,000 after acquiring an additional 274,310 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 6.4% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 659,435 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,895,000 after buying an additional 39,794 shares in the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth lifted its holdings in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 30.1% in the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 9,832 shares of the company’s stock valued at $297,000 after acquiring an additional 2,277 shares during the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter worth about $1,488,000. Finally, Teacher Retirement System of Texas increased its stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 33.5% during the second quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 668,273 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,403,000 after acquiring an additional 167,822 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.86% of the company’s stock.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 0.0%

Shares of NASDAQ:IONS opened at $83.15 on Monday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $80.93 and its 200 day moving average is $70.88. The stock has a market cap of $13.47 billion, a P/E ratio of -49.20 and a beta of 0.29. Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 52-week low of $23.95 and a 52-week high of $86.74. The company has a quick ratio of 2.78, a current ratio of 2.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on IONS. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $82.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Raymond James Financial restated a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $89.00 target price (up previously from $85.00) on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $95.00 price target for the company. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Finally, HC Wainwright boosted their target price on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $86.95.

Insider Activity at Ionis Pharmaceuticals

In related news, EVP C Frank Bennett sold 85,089 shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.93, for a total value of $7,056,430.77. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 80,293 shares in the company, valued at $6,658,698.49. This trade represents a 51.45% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Brett P. Monia sold 29,430 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.79, for a total transaction of $2,524,799.70. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 254,497 shares in the company, valued at $21,833,297.63. The trade was a 10.37% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 481,356 shares of company stock valued at $38,987,621 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 2.71% of the company’s 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.