American Century Companies Inc. Has $18.68 Million Stock Holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. $IONS

American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) by 304.9% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 472,749 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 355,981 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc.’s holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals were worth $18,678,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 14.2% during the first quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 16,175,533 shares of the company’s stock valued at $488,016,000 after buying an additional 2,006,334 shares in the last quarter. BVF Inc. IL purchased a new stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $57,727,000. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. boosted its stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 291.1% in the 1st quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 1,075,600 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,451,000 after purchasing an additional 800,600 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 72.5% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 652,518 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,686,000 after purchasing an additional 274,310 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Teacher Retirement System of Texas grew its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 33.5% during the 2nd quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 668,273 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,403,000 after purchasing an additional 167,822 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.86% of the company’s stock.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:IONS opened at $81.31 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $72.51 and a 200 day moving average price of $53.69. The company has a market cap of $13.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -48.11 and a beta of 0.29. The company has a quick ratio of 2.86, a current ratio of 2.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a twelve month low of $23.95 and a twelve month high of $82.95.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The company reported ($0.80) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.15) by $0.35. Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 45.29% and a negative net margin of 26.45%.The company had revenue of $156.72 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $131.75 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($0.95) EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 17.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -3.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on IONS shares. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Ionis Pharmaceuticals from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $45.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Citigroup raised their price objective on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $69.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $81.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $49.00 to $80.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $84.15.

Insider Activity at Ionis Pharmaceuticals

In other news, EVP Shannon L. Devers sold 16,777 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.91, for a total transaction of $1,357,427.07. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 17,494 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,415,439.54. This trade represents a 48.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Elizabeth L. Hougen sold 49,800 shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.26, for a total transaction of $3,249,948.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 110,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,211,230. This trade represents a 31.07% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 505,566 shares of company stock valued at $35,304,952. Insiders own 2.71% of the company’s stock.

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.