DCF Advisers LLC Has $7.09 Million Stock Holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. $IONS

DCF Advisers LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) by 18.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 108,413 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 16,663 shares during the period. Ionis Pharmaceuticals comprises 2.3% of DCF Advisers LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 9th largest position. DCF Advisers LLC owned approximately 0.07% of Ionis Pharmaceuticals worth $7,092,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of IONS. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 72.5% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 652,518 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,686,000 after buying an additional 274,310 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its position in 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 worth $19,895,000 after acquiring an additional 39,794 shares in the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth lifted its stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 30.1% in the first 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. Atria Investments Inc acquired a new stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter valued at $323,000. Finally, Amalgamated Bank grew its position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 9.0% in the 2nd quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 11,526 shares of the company’s stock valued at $455,000 after acquiring an additional 953 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.86% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director B Lynne Parshall sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.72, for a total value of $413,600.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 56,344 shares in the company, valued at $4,660,775.68. The trade was a 8.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Eric Swayze sold 15,642 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.76, for a total value of $1,278,889.92. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 32,105 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,624,904.80. This represents a 32.76% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 596,652 shares of company stock valued at $48,059,821. Corporate insiders own 2.60% of the company’s stock.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

IONS stock opened at $74.04 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.76, a current ratio of 3.83 and a quick ratio of 3.81. The stock has a market cap of $12.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -30.34 and a beta of 0.31. Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 1 year low of $23.95 and a 1 year high of $86.74. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $81.06 and a 200 day simple moving average of $73.12.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The company reported ($1.41) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $203.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $156.07 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted ($0.66) earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -3.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

IONS has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $87.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $86.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 9th. Needham & Company LLC increased their price objective on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $90.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $95.00 price target on Ionis Pharmaceuticals and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. One investment 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 given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $89.00.

More Ionis Pharmaceuticals News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Broker upgrades and higher price targets are supporting upside sentiment — multiple firms recently raised ratings/targets (examples include Leerink and H.C. Wainwright), which can attract buyers and underpin the stock. Leerink Raises PT HC Wainwright Buy
• Positive Sentiment: An analyst raised Q1 EPS estimates for Ionis, which narrows short‑term earnings uncertainty and could support a re-rating if results confirm the revision. Q1 EPS Estimate Boosted
• Neutral Sentiment: Peer data flow — Biogen is presenting new SMA data this week. Positive competitor readouts can be a headwind for Ionis’ SMA-related programs or, alternatively, validate the market; implications are mixed for Ionis’ pipeline valuation. Biogen SMA Data
• Negative Sentiment: Significant insider selling by senior executives and a director is weighing on sentiment — EVP C. Frank Bennett sold ~85,089 shares, Director Allene Diaz sold ~54,878 shares and EVP Shannon Devers sold ~20,106 shares in early March; those large, concentrated disposals (multi‑million dollar amounts) often trigger investor concern about management conviction. Insider Sales
• Negative Sentiment: Fundamental headwinds remain — the most recent quarter missed EPS expectations (despite a revenue beat) and the company still projects negative full‑year earnings, keeping profitability and cash‑flow concerns front of mind for investors. Recent Earnings Recap

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

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.