Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $476,000 Position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) by 3.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 13,616 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 504 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals were worth $476,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of IONS. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth approximately $40,000. Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $42,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. increased its holdings in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 40.9% during the 3rd quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 1,081 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 314 shares during the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter valued at $51,000. Finally, Quest Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 94.8% during the 3rd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 2,674 shares of the company’s stock valued at $107,000 after purchasing an additional 1,301 shares during the last quarter. 93.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, December 20th. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $65.00 to $62.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $67.00 to $64.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $82.00 to $77.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $60.00.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

IONS stock opened at $34.39 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $32.99 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $37.49. Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 12 month low of $30.23 and a 12 month high of $52.34. The company has a quick ratio of 8.82, a current ratio of 8.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.12. The firm has a market cap of $5.47 billion, a P/E ratio of -11.31 and a beta of 0.34.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported ($0.66) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.12) by $0.46. The business had revenue of $227.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $140.97 million. Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 64.25% and a negative return on equity of 100.05%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 30.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.12 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -3.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Eric Swayze sold 1,367 shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.31, for a total transaction of $44,167.77. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 48,017 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,551,429.27. The trade was a 2.77 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Patrick R. O’neil sold 1,207 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.35, for a total transaction of $39,046.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 56,245 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,819,525.75. The trade was a 2.10 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 111,816 shares of company stock worth $3,603,914 in the last ninety days. 2.71% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.