Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) Position Increased by E Fund Management Co. Ltd.

E Fund Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) by 32.3% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 16,868 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,116 shares during the period. E Fund Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals were worth $590,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in IONS. Lindbrook Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 183.8% in the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 1,036 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 671 shares during the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $40,000. Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $42,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. raised its stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 40.9% during the 3rd quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 1,081 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 314 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter valued at $51,000. Institutional investors own 93.86% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Brett P. Monia sold 38,843 shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.65, for a total transaction of $1,229,380.95. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 180,683 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,718,616.95. The trade was a 17.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Michael R. Hayden purchased 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 23rd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $36.22 per share, for a total transaction of $181,100.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 35,219 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,275,632.18. This represents a 16.55 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 111,816 shares of company stock worth $3,603,914. 2.71% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ IONS opened at $33.81 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 8.82, a current ratio of 8.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -11.12 and a beta of 0.34. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $32.95 and its 200 day simple moving average is $37.47. Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 52-week low of $30.23 and a 52-week high of $52.34.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported ($0.66) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.12) by $0.46. The business had revenue of $227.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $140.97 million. Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 100.05% and a negative net margin of 64.25%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 30.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.12 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -3.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on IONS shares. StockNews.com downgraded Ionis Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $70.00 target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $60.00 target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $60.00 to $45.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $60.00.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Profile

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.