Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. Has $4.38 Million Stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS)

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) by 606.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 125,389 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 107,648 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. owned approximately 0.08% of Ionis Pharmaceuticals worth $4,384,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of IONS. Amalgamated Bank grew its stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 3.1% during the third quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 9,957 shares of the company’s stock worth $399,000 after buying an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 5.9% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 18,350 shares of the company’s stock valued at $735,000 after purchasing an additional 1,020 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 94.8% in the 3rd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 2,674 shares of the company’s stock valued at $107,000 after purchasing an additional 1,301 shares in the last quarter. Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Finally, Commerce Bank boosted its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 77,553 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,107,000 after purchasing an additional 1,211 shares in the last quarter. 93.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Ionis Pharmaceuticals

In other Ionis Pharmaceuticals news, Director Michael R. Hayden purchased 5,000 shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 23rd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $36.22 per share, with a total value of $181,100.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 35,219 shares in the company, valued at $1,275,632.18. This trade represents a 16.55 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Patrick R. O’neil sold 1,207 shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.35, for a total transaction of $39,046.45. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 56,245 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,819,525.75. The trade was a 2.10 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 111,956 shares of company stock valued at $3,608,439 in the last quarter. 2.71% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of IONS stock opened at $32.96 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $5.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.84 and a beta of 0.28. Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 52 week low of $30.23 and a 52 week high of $52.34. The company has a quick ratio of 8.82, a current ratio of 8.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.12. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $32.71 and a 200-day moving average of $36.70.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported ($0.66) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($1.12) by $0.46. The company had revenue of $227.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $140.97 million. Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 64.25% and a negative return on equity of 100.05%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 30.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.12 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -3.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on IONS. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $60.00 to $45.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $70.00 price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $67.00 to $64.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $60.00 price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Ionis Pharmaceuticals has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $59.56.

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.