Alpine Global Management LLC Acquires 30,463 Shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. $IONS

Alpine Global Management LLC boosted its stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) by 119.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 55,900 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 30,463 shares during the period. Alpine Global Management LLC’s holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals were worth $3,657,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 72.5% in 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 in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 6.4% during the first 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 purchasing an additional 39,794 shares in the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth boosted its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 30.1% during the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 9,832 shares of the company’s stock worth $297,000 after buying an additional 2,277 shares during the period. Savant Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter worth $222,000. Finally, Allworth Financial LP grew its position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 231.8% in the 2nd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 740 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 517 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.86% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Shannon L. Devers sold 20,106 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.40, for a total value of $1,596,416.40. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 22,541 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,789,755.40. This represents a 47.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP C Frank Bennett sold 85,089 shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.23, for a total transaction of $6,741,601.47. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 80,554 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,382,293.42. The trade was a 51.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 804,850 shares of company stock worth $63,765,602. Company insiders own 2.71% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

IONS has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Leerink Partners lifted their price objective on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $102.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $87.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Barclays started coverage on Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $95.00 target price for the company. Morgan Stanley set a $95.00 price objective on Ionis Pharmaceuticals and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $86.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Ionis Pharmaceuticals currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $89.00.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 0.0%

IONS opened at $72.33 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.95 billion, a P/E ratio of -29.64 and a beta of 0.31. Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a one year low of $23.95 and a one year high of $86.74. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $80.20 and a 200-day moving average price of $75.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.76, a current ratio of 3.83 and a quick ratio of 3.81.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 25th. The company reported ($1.41) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($1.23) by ($0.18). Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 40.36% and a negative return on equity of 68.82%. The business had revenue of $203.33 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $156.07 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted ($0.66) EPS. Ionis Pharmaceuticals’s quarterly revenue was down 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -3.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.