Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. Reduces Stock Position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS)

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. trimmed its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) by 59.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 17,741 shares of the company’s stock after selling 26,515 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd.’s holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals were worth $711,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. nVerses Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 83.9% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 664 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 303 shares during the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter worth $37,000. Mather Group LLC. boosted its holdings in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 35.8% during the second quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 911 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 240 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter valued at $40,000. 93.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

IONS has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $70.00 price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Guggenheim lowered their target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $70.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $45.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $60.00 target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ionis Pharmaceuticals currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $60.65.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ionis Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Eric Swayze sold 1,194 shares of the 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 directly owns 33,713 shares in the company, valued at $1,278,396.96. This represents a 3.42 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Brett P. Monia sold 6,630 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.05, for a total transaction of $252,271.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 167,393 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,369,303.65. The trade was a 3.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 7,877 shares of company stock worth $299,578. 2.71% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of IONS stock opened at $35.90 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $38.35 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $42.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86, a current ratio of 8.91 and a quick ratio of 8.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.67 billion, a P/E ratio of -14.71 and a beta of 0.39. Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 12 month low of $33.33 and a 12 month high of $54.44.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals 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.