Victory Capital Management Inc. Grows Position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS)

Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) by 5.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 18,350 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,020 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals were worth $735,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. ARK Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. ARK Investment Management LLC now owns 1,384,269 shares of the company’s stock worth $55,454,000 after purchasing an additional 23,244 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc boosted its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 6.1% during the second quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 952,762 shares of the company’s stock worth $45,409,000 after buying an additional 54,400 shares during the period. Candriam S.C.A. grew its holdings in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 4.0% during the second quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 948,266 shares of the company’s stock worth $45,192,000 after buying an additional 36,369 shares during the last quarter. Great Point Partners LLC acquired a new position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter valued at about $15,728,000. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 3,287.0% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 328,772 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,171,000 after acquiring an additional 319,065 shares during the last quarter. 93.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Eric Swayze sold 1,194 shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.92, for a total transaction of $45,276.48. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 33,713 shares in the company, valued at $1,278,396.96. The trade was a 3.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Brett P. Monia sold 6,630 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.05, for a total transaction of $252,271.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 167,393 shares in the company, valued at $6,369,303.65. The trade was a 3.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 7,877 shares of company stock valued at $299,578. Corporate insiders own 2.71% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on IONS. Guggenheim lowered their target price on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $70.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $60.00 target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Piper Sandler cut their price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $65.00 to $62.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Ionis Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ionis Pharmaceuticals presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $60.65.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $35.90 on Friday. Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 1 year low of $33.33 and a 1 year high of $54.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86, a current ratio of 8.91 and a quick ratio of 8.82. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $38.35 and a 200 day moving average price of $42.39. The company has a market capitalization of $5.67 billion, a P/E ratio of -14.71 and a beta of 0.39.

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.