First Turn Management LLC Invests $18.04 Million in Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS)

First Turn Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 356,679 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,044,000. Ionis Pharmaceuticals comprises 2.6% of First Turn Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding. First Turn Management LLC owned approximately 0.25% of Ionis Pharmaceuticals as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. HealthInvest Partners AB purchased a new position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,226,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 3.6% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,242,307 shares of the company’s stock valued at $56,351,000 after acquiring an additional 43,087 shares in the last quarter. Lisanti Capital Growth LLC bought a new stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at $3,158,000. Trexquant Investment LP increased its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 75.2% during the 3rd quarter. Trexquant Investment LP now owns 183,349 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,317,000 after purchasing an additional 78,724 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter worth $9,329,000. Institutional investors own 93.86% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on IONS. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $60.00 price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, May 8th. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $85.00 to $82.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 8th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $59.54.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals stock traded up $0.94 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $39.21. 1,256,345 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,120,116. The business has a fifty day moving average of $42.25 and a two-hundred day moving average of $46.71. The company has a market capitalization of $5.72 billion, a P/E ratio of -14.69 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a quick ratio of 7.28, a current ratio of 7.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.15. Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 1 year low of $34.99 and a 1 year high of $54.44.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 7th. The company reported ($0.98) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($1.10) by $0.12. The company had revenue of $119.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $131.42 million. Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 49.49% and a negative return on equity of 107.64%. Ionis Pharmaceuticals’s revenue was down 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($0.87) EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -3.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ionis Pharmaceuticals

In related news, Director Joseph Klein III sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.71, for a total transaction of $256,260.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 16,346 shares in the company, valued at $698,137.66. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, Director Joseph Klein III sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.71, for a total transaction of $256,260.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 16,346 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $698,137.66. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Joseph Baroldi sold 4,006 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.60, for a total transaction of $166,649.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 19,631 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $816,649.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 10,393 shares of company stock worth $440,127 over the last quarter. 2.65% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.