Raymond James Financial Inc. Makes New Investment in Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS)

Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 105,619 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,692,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned approximately 0.07% of Ionis Pharmaceuticals as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 7.4% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,668,358 shares of the company’s stock worth $106,922,000 after buying an additional 183,814 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 967.2% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 141,917 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,961,000 after acquiring an additional 128,619 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 222.5% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 23,927 shares of the company’s stock worth $836,000 after acquiring an additional 16,508 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 8.7% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,443,020 shares of the company’s stock valued at $57,807,000 after acquiring an additional 114,914 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. boosted its stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 13.6% during the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 650,779 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,070,000 after purchasing an additional 77,909 shares during the last quarter. 93.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Patrick R. O’neil sold 6,165 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.62, for a total value of $194,937.30. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 57,452 shares in the company, valued at $1,816,632.24. This trade represents a 9.69 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Brett P. Monia sold 38,843 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.65, for a total value of $1,229,380.95. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 180,683 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,718,616.95. This trade represents a 17.69 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 111,956 shares of company stock worth $3,608,439. Insiders own 2.71% of the company’s stock.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $31.72 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 8.82, a current ratio of 8.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.12. Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 52 week low of $30.23 and a 52 week high of $52.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.04 billion, a P/E ratio of -10.43 and a beta of 0.28. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $32.54 and its two-hundred day moving average is $35.92.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $60.00 to $45.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, December 20th. StockNews.com raised shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $70.00 target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $60.00 target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ionis Pharmaceuticals presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $59.44.

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.