Sovran Advisors LLC Lowers Stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. $IONS

Sovran Advisors LLC decreased its position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) by 53.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 150,856 shares of the company’s stock after selling 171,057 shares during the period. Ionis Pharmaceuticals accounts for approximately 0.9% of Sovran Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest holding. Sovran Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.09% of Ionis Pharmaceuticals worth $9,869,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. grew its position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 253.3% in the second quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 3,800,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $150,138,000 after purchasing an additional 2,724,400 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,891,095 shares of the company’s stock valued at $114,245,000 after buying an additional 48,141 shares during the period. Groupama Asset Managment lifted its holdings in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 8.6% during the 2nd quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 1,160,957 shares of the company’s stock worth $45,869,000 after acquiring an additional 91,746 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc boosted its position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 0.4% in the second quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 1,104,690 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,646,000 after acquiring an additional 4,224 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 66.1% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 862,593 shares of the company’s stock valued at $56,431,000 after purchasing an additional 343,409 shares during the period. 93.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 2.1%

Shares of NASDAQ IONS opened at $80.04 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $12.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -47.36 and a beta of 0.28. Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 1 year low of $23.95 and a 1 year high of $86.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 2.78 and a current ratio of 2.79. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $79.44 and its 200-day simple moving average is $65.14.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The company reported ($0.80) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($1.15) by $0.35. The company had revenue of $156.72 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $131.75 million. Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 44.26% and a negative net margin of 26.45%.Ionis Pharmaceuticals’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned ($0.95) EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -3.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Ionis Pharmaceuticals this week:

• Positive Sentiment: EU approval for Dawnzera (hereditary angioedema) expands Ionis’ commercial footprint after the prior U.S. clearance, increasing potential revenue and reinforcing the drug’s global launch narrative. This regulatory milestone supports longer-term sales upside and de-risks a marketed asset. Ionis’ Dawnzera Gets EU Approval for Hereditary Angioedema
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple insiders filed sales of Ionis shares today (large aggregate volumes from senior staff), which can be interpreted as profit-taking or signal reduced insider conviction and may pressure the stock in the near term. Key filings reported include sales by Brett Monia (44,034 shares), Elizabeth Hougen (12,922), Patrick O’Neil (9,191), Eugene Schneider (9,302), C. Frank Bennett (8,977), Brian Birchler (8,480), Shannon Devers (8,353), and two earlier smaller transactions. These are sizeable individual dispositions and bear watching for follow-on selling or the stated reasons in the filings (e.g., diversification, tax, option exercises).
  Brett Monia Sells 44,034 Shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) Stock
  Elizabeth Hougen Sells 12,922 Shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) Stock
  Patrick O’neil Sells 9,191 Shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) Stock
  Eugene Schneider Sells 9,302 Shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) Stock
  C Frank Bennett Sells 8,977 Shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) Stock
  Brian Birchler Sells 8,480 Shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) Stock
  Shannon Devers Sells 8,353 Shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) Stock
  Kyle Jenne Sells 1,823 Shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) Stock
  Holly Kordasiewicz Sells 4,141 Shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) Stock

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Richard S. Geary sold 89,249 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.11, for a total value of $6,703,492.39. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 59,657 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,480,837.27. The trade was a 59.94% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Joseph H. Wender sold 28,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.82, for a total transaction of $2,262,960.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 36,035 shares in the company, valued at $2,912,348.70. The trade was a 43.73% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 395,140 shares of company stock worth $30,506,876 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 2.71% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on IONS shares. Barclays upped their price objective on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $82.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating and set a $89.00 price target (up from $85.00) on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $43.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $86.45.

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.