Sovran Advisors LLC Invests $5.62 Million in Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS)

Sovran Advisors LLC bought a new position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm bought 171,812 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,617,000. Ionis Pharmaceuticals accounts for about 0.8% of Sovran Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest holding.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in IONS. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 3,287.0% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 328,772 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,171,000 after purchasing an additional 319,065 shares during the last quarter. Baker BROS. Advisors LP bought a new position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter worth approximately $8,952,000. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 7.4% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,668,358 shares of the company’s stock worth $106,922,000 after purchasing an additional 183,814 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 967.2% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 141,917 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,961,000 after purchasing an additional 128,619 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 8.7% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,443,020 shares of the company’s stock worth $57,807,000 after purchasing an additional 114,914 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.86% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Ionis Pharmaceuticals

In related news, EVP Patrick R. O’neil sold 6,165 shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.62, for a total value of $194,937.30. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 57,452 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,816,632.24. This trade represents a 9.69 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Brett P. Monia sold 33,445 shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.63, for a total value of $1,091,310.35. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 207,396 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,767,331.48. The trade was a 13.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 110,609 shares of company stock valued at $3,564,867 in the last quarter. 2.71% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on IONS shares. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $60.00 price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $70.00 price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $82.00 to $77.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. StockNews.com lowered Ionis Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ionis Pharmaceuticals presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $60.65.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 0.3 %

IONS opened at $31.48 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $34.70 and a 200-day moving average price of $39.36. The company has a quick ratio of 8.82, a current ratio of 8.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86. Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 1 year low of $31.03 and a 1 year high of $52.34.

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.