Handelsinvest Investeringsforvaltning Decreases Stock Position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS)

Handelsinvest Investeringsforvaltning reduced its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) by 34.2% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 5,287 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,746 shares during the period. Handelsinvest Investeringsforvaltning’s holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals were worth $229,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Pingora Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Mather Group LLC. purchased a new stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the first quarter worth $29,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners purchased a new stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Sunbelt Securities Inc. bought a new position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the first quarter worth $44,000. 93.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Joseph Baroldi sold 4,006 shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.60, for a total value of $166,649.60. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 19,631 shares in the company, valued at $816,649.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, Director Joseph Klein III sold 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.71, for a total transaction of $256,260.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 16,346 shares in the company, valued at approximately $698,137.66. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Joseph Baroldi sold 4,006 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.60, for a total value of $166,649.60. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 19,631 shares in the company, valued at approximately $816,649.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 2.71% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on IONS. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $50.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Oppenheimer raised their price target on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised Ionis Pharmaceuticals from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $44.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, June 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $85.00 to $82.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $58.64.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 1.0 %

NASDAQ:IONS opened at $45.60 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.15, a current ratio of 7.37 and a quick ratio of 7.28. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $40.80 and a 200 day moving average of $44.77. Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 52-week low of $35.95 and a 52-week high of $54.44.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The company reported ($0.98) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($1.10) by $0.12. Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 107.64% and a negative net margin of 49.49%. The firm had revenue of $119.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $131.42 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($0.87) earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -3.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.