Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. $IONS Shares Bought by Artia Global Partners LP

Artia Global Partners LP increased its position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) by 139.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 144,376 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 84,200 shares during the quarter. Ionis Pharmaceuticals makes up about 1.6% of Artia Global Partners LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. Artia Global Partners LP’s holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals were worth $11,422,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. purchased a new stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth about $38,000. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth about $47,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth about $47,000. Finally, Johnson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth about $44,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.86% of the company’s stock.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $74.31 on Thursday. Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a one year low of $36.11 and a one year high of $86.74. The company has a market cap of $12.28 billion, a PE ratio of -35.90 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.75, a quick ratio of 4.09 and a current ratio of 4.10. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $74.89 and a 200-day simple moving average of $77.59.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported ($0.56) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.85) by $0.29. The firm had revenue of $246.09 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $195.57 million. Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 58.65% and a negative net margin of 30.91%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 86.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($0.93) earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -3.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

IONS has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $125.00 price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Citigroup assumed 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. Raymond James Financial assumed coverage on Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, April 10th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $104.00 price objective for the company. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC boosted 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $101.80.

Insider Transactions at Ionis Pharmaceuticals

In related news, EVP Kyle Jenne sold 4,902 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.17, for a total value of $368,483.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 23,713 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,782,506.21. This represents a 17.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, EVP Shannon L. Devers sold 6,193 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.05, for a total value of $458,591.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 16,348 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,210,569.40. This trade represents a 27.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 93,914 shares of company stock valued at $6,941,424 over the last three months. 1.81% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Ionis Pharmaceuticals

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.