Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. $IONS Shares Sold by Aberdeen Group plc

Aberdeen Group plc trimmed its holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) by 78.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 87,924 shares of the company’s stock after selling 318,770 shares during the period. Aberdeen Group plc owned 0.05% of Ionis Pharmaceuticals worth $5,752,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in IONS. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. acquired a new stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,340,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 66.1% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 862,593 shares of the company’s stock valued at $56,431,000 after purchasing an additional 343,409 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter worth $17,790,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 1,669.0% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 312,297 shares of the company’s stock worth $20,430,000 after purchasing an additional 294,643 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capricorn Fund Managers Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter worth about $10,650,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.86% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Ionis Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Eric Swayze sold 23,463 shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Friday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.12, for a total transaction of $1,856,392.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 30,453 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,409,441.36. This trade represents a 43.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Brett P. Monia sold 62,970 shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.72, for a total transaction of $5,208,878.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 283,927 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,486,441.44. This trade represents a 18.15% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 481,356 shares of company stock valued at $38,987,621. 2.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 0.0%

IONS opened at $83.15 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $13.47 billion, a P/E ratio of -49.20 and a beta of 0.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 2.79 and a quick ratio of 2.78. Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $23.95 and a fifty-two week high of $86.74. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $80.93 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $70.48.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on IONS shares. Leerink Partners boosted their price target on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $85.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 15th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 1st. Needham & Company LLC lifted their target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $78.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $82.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $86.95.

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.