Vontobel Holding Ltd. Boosts Stock Position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS)

Vontobel Holding Ltd. grew its holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) by 6.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,865 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 363 shares during the quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd.’s holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals were worth $205,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Prospera Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth approximately $42,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. increased its position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 40.9% during the third quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 1,081 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 314 shares in the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth approximately $51,000. Finally, Quest Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 94.8% during the third quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 2,674 shares of the company’s stock worth $107,000 after purchasing an additional 1,301 shares in the last quarter. 93.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $32.33 on Friday. Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 52 week low of $30.23 and a 52 week high of $52.34. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $33.65 and its 200-day simple moving average is $38.36. The firm has a market cap of $5.10 billion, a PE ratio of -10.63 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a quick ratio of 8.82, a current ratio of 8.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported ($0.66) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($1.12) by $0.46. Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 111.15% and a negative net margin of 64.25%. The business had revenue of $227.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $140.97 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.12 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 30.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -3.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Eric Swayze sold 7,154 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.84, for a total transaction of $234,937.36. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 45,670 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,499,802.80. This represents a 13.54 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Michael R. Hayden purchased 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 23rd. The shares were bought at an average price of $36.22 per share, for a total transaction of $181,100.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 35,219 shares in the company, valued at $1,275,632.18. This trade represents a 16.55 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 110,609 shares of company stock valued at $3,564,867. Corporate insiders own 2.71% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

IONS has been the subject of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $82.00 to $77.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Citigroup dropped their price target on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $67.00 to $64.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $65.00 to $62.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $60.00 to $45.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $60.00 price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $60.00.

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.