Natixis Advisors LLC Sells 2,324 Shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS)

Natixis Advisors LLC lowered its position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) by 9.9% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 21,080 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,324 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC’s holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals were worth $844,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Nicollet Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Nicollet Investment Management Inc. now owns 20,402 shares of the company’s stock worth $817,000 after buying an additional 294 shares in the last quarter. Nicola Wealth Management LTD. lifted its position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 17.6% during the 3rd quarter. Nicola Wealth Management LTD. now owns 87,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,485,000 after buying an additional 13,000 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 5.9% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 18,350 shares of the company’s stock worth $735,000 after buying an additional 1,020 shares in the last quarter. Aigen Investment Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $465,000. Finally, Privium Fund Management B.V. raised its holdings in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Privium Fund Management B.V. now owns 250,744 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,045,000 after purchasing an additional 3,477 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.86% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Brett P. Monia sold 6,630 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 167,393 shares in the company, valued at $6,369,303.65. The trade was a 3.81 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Eric Swayze sold 1,194 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.92, for a total transaction of $45,276.48. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 33,713 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,278,396.96. This trade represents a 3.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 7,877 shares of company stock worth $299,578 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 2.71% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on IONS. BMO Capital Markets cut shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $67.00 to $60.00 in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $45.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $60.00 price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $70.00 price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, Guggenheim lowered their price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $70.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $60.65.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 1.5 %

IONS opened at $35.90 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $38.48 and a 200-day moving average price of $42.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.67 billion, a P/E ratio of -14.50 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86, a current ratio of 8.91 and a quick ratio of 8.82. Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a one year low of $33.33 and a one year high of $54.44.

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.