Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) Shares Sold by Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank trimmed its holdings in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) by 92.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 29,440 shares of the company’s stock after selling 343,899 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals were worth $1,489,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of IONS. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 113.3% during the third quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 41,571 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,886,000 after purchasing an additional 22,078 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 4.4% during the third quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 21,470 shares of the company’s stock valued at $974,000 after purchasing an additional 897 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates boosted its stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 1.4% during the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 194,629 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,828,000 after buying an additional 2,745 shares in the last quarter. NBT Bank N A NY bought a new position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter valued at about $773,000. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc boosted its stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 14.5% during the third quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 898,852 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,772,000 after buying an additional 113,644 shares in the last quarter. 93.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 1.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ IONS opened at $41.84 on Friday. Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a one year low of $34.32 and a one year high of $54.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.10 billion, a PE ratio of -16.34 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a current ratio of 5.90, a quick ratio of 5.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.18. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $43.40 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $47.23.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 21st. The company reported ($0.06) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.78) by $0.72. Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 90.29% and a negative net margin of 46.32%. The firm had revenue of $325.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $176.01 million. During the same period last year, the company posted ($0.37) EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 113.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -3.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Eric Swayze sold 1,907 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.56, for a total transaction of $94,510.92. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 34,324 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,701,097.44. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Eric Swayze sold 1,907 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.56, for a total transaction of $94,510.92. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 34,324 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,701,097.44. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Elizabeth L. Hougen sold 2,125 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.54, for a total value of $105,272.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 92,905 shares in the company, valued at $4,602,513.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 42,699 shares of company stock worth $2,104,091. 2.65% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Bank of America raised Ionis Pharmaceuticals from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $52.00 to $62.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 2nd. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $60.00 price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $56.08.

About Ionis Pharmaceuticals

Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc discovers and develops RNA-targeted therapeutics in the United States. The company offers SPINRAZA for spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) in pediatric and adult patients; TEGSEDI, an antisense injection for the treatment of polyneuropathy caused by hereditary transthyretin amyloidosis in adults; and WAYLIVRA, an antisense medicine for treatment for familial chylomicronemia syndrome (FCS) and familial partial lipodystrophy.