Principal Financial Group Inc. Lowers Stock Position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lowered its stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) by 24.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,112 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,346 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals were worth $525,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 7.4% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,668,358 shares of the company’s stock worth $106,922,000 after purchasing an additional 183,814 shares during the period. Great Point Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter worth about $15,728,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 8.7% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,443,020 shares of the company’s stock worth $57,807,000 after buying an additional 114,914 shares during the period. DRW Securities LLC acquired a new position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter worth $2,429,000. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. raised its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 13.6% during the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 650,779 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,070,000 after acquiring an additional 77,909 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.86% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $70.00 price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Guggenheim dropped their price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $70.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, December 20th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $82.00 to $77.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their target price on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $65.00 to $62.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $60.65.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $34.81 on Monday. Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 52 week low of $33.33 and a 52 week high of $54.44. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $36.74 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $41.95. The stock has a market cap of $5.50 billion, a PE ratio of -14.27 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a current ratio of 8.91, a quick ratio of 8.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Eric Swayze sold 1,194 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.92, for a total transaction of $45,276.48. Following the transaction, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Brett P. Monia sold 6,630 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.05, for a total transaction of $252,271.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 167,393 shares in the company, valued at $6,369,303.65. This trade represents a 3.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 7,877 shares of company stock worth $299,578. 2.71% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Company 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.