Clearbridge Investments LLC Sells 84,173 Shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS)

Clearbridge Investments LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) by 4.9% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 1,618,220 shares of the company’s stock after selling 84,173 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC’s holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals were worth $56,573,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Signaturefd LLC increased its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 160.0% during the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 949 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 584 shares during the last quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 183.8% during the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 1,036 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 671 shares in the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. increased its holdings in shares of 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 during the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $51,000. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter worth approximately $107,000. Institutional investors own 93.86% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

IONS has been the topic of several analyst reports. Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday. They set a “neutral” rating and a $39.00 price target on the stock. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $67.00 to $64.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $60.00 price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $70.00 price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $47.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ionis Pharmaceuticals has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $58.37.

Insider Transactions at Ionis Pharmaceuticals

In other Ionis Pharmaceuticals news, CEO Brett P. Monia sold 33,445 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.63, for a total transaction of $1,091,310.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 207,396 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,767,331.48. This represents a 13.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Patrick R. O’neil sold 1,207 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.35, for a total value of $39,046.45. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 56,245 shares in the company, valued at $1,819,525.75. This represents a 2.10 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 111,956 shares of company stock worth $3,608,439 in the last quarter. 2.71% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Ionis Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $30.17 on Tuesday. Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 1 year low of $29.61 and a 1 year high of $52.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.12, a current ratio of 8.47 and a quick ratio of 8.82. The company has a market capitalization of $4.80 billion, a P/E ratio of -9.92 and a beta of 0.28. The business has a 50 day moving average of $32.50 and a 200-day moving average of $35.63.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported ($0.66) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.12) by $0.46. Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 64.25% and a negative return on equity of 100.05%. The business had revenue of $227.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $140.97 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.12 earnings per share. Ionis Pharmaceuticals’s quarterly revenue was down 30.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -3.5 earnings per share for the current year.

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.