Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $525,000 Holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS)

Principal Financial Group Inc. decreased its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) by 24.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,112 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,346 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals were worth $525,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in IONS. Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the 1st quarter valued at about $255,000. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co raised its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 2.7% in the 1st quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 41,880 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,817,000 after buying an additional 1,099 shares during the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 948.8% in the 1st quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,178 shares of the company’s stock valued at $138,000 after acquiring an additional 2,875 shares in the last quarter. Paloma Partners Management Co acquired a new position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the 1st quarter worth approximately $213,000. Finally, Kennedy Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 9.2% during the 1st quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC now owns 249,527 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,817,000 after acquiring an additional 21,102 shares in the last quarter. 93.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of IONS stock opened at $34.01 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86, a quick ratio of 8.82 and a current ratio of 8.91. Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $33.33 and a fifty-two week high of $54.44. The company has a market capitalization of $5.37 billion, a P/E ratio of -13.94 and a beta of 0.39. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $38.70 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $42.49.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Eric Swayze sold 1,194 shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.92, for a total value of $45,276.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 33,713 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,278,396.96. The trade was a 3.42 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Brett P. Monia sold 6,630 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.05, for a total transaction of $252,271.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 167,393 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,369,303.65. This trade represents a 3.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 8,197 shares of company stock worth $315,310. 2.71% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

IONS has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $33.00 to $37.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. StockNews.com lowered Ionis Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. BMO Capital Markets downgraded Ionis Pharmaceuticals from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $67.00 to $60.00 in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Ionis Pharmaceuticals has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $60.65.

About Ionis Pharmaceuticals

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.