Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. $IONS Shares Acquired by Future Fund LLC

Future Fund LLC grew its stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) by 26.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 45,851 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 9,695 shares during the quarter. Ionis Pharmaceuticals comprises approximately 1.3% of Future Fund LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest position. Future Fund LLC’s holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals were worth $3,627,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of IONS. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 72.5% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 652,518 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,686,000 after acquiring an additional 274,310 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 6.4% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 659,435 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,895,000 after acquiring an additional 39,794 shares during the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth increased its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 30.1% in the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 9,832 shares of the company’s stock worth $297,000 after acquiring an additional 2,277 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter worth $220,000. Finally, Prudential Financial Inc. increased its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 47.8% in the 2nd quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 9,254 shares of the company’s stock worth $341,000 after acquiring an additional 2,991 shares during the last quarter. 93.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $76.50 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $74.62 and a 200 day moving average of $77.67. Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 12 month low of $32.00 and a 12 month high of $86.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -36.96 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.75, a current ratio of 4.10 and a quick ratio of 4.09.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported ($0.56) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.85) by $0.29. Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 58.65% and a negative net margin of 30.91%.The company had revenue of $246.09 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $195.57 million. During the same period last year, the business posted ($0.93) EPS. Ionis Pharmaceuticals’s revenue for the quarter was up 86.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -3.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $73.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Citigroup started coverage on Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday, May 18th. They set a “buy” rating and a $115.00 price objective for the company. Needham & Company LLC raised their price objective on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $103.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 25th. Barclays raised their target price on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $106.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ionis Pharmaceuticals presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $100.90.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Allene M. Diaz sold 54,878 shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.35, for a total value of $4,354,569.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 3,811 shares in the company, valued at approximately $302,402.85. This trade represents a 93.51% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Kyle Jenne sold 37,277 shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.85, for a total value of $2,827,460.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 11,714 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $888,506.90. The trade was a 76.09% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 616,371 shares of company stock worth $46,406,452. Corporate insiders own 2.60% of the company’s stock.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc is a biotechnology company focused on the discovery and development of RNA-targeted therapies designed to modulate gene expression. The company’s proprietary antisense oligonucleotide (ASO) technology enables the selective binding of short synthetic strands of nucleic acids to messenger RNA (mRNA), thereby inhibiting or altering the production of disease-causing proteins. Ionis’ pipeline spans a range of therapeutic areas, including neurological disorders, cardiovascular conditions, metabolic diseases and rare genetic disorders.

Since its founding in 1989 by Dr.