Baillie Gifford & Co. Cuts Stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS)

Baillie Gifford & Co. lessened its holdings in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) by 84.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 39,581 shares of the company’s stock after selling 220,673 shares during the period. Baillie Gifford & Co.’s holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals were worth $1,586,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Great Point Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter valued at about $15,728,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 3,287.0% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 328,772 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,171,000 after purchasing an additional 319,065 shares during the last quarter. Logos Global Management LP acquired a new stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $14,298,000. Zimmer Partners LP purchased a new stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the 1st quarter worth approximately $11,718,000. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP increased its stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 1,021.5% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 173,199 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,255,000 after purchasing an additional 157,756 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.86% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on IONS shares. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Barclays raised their price objective on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $45.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. TD Cowen upped their target price on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $54.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $70.00 price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, Leerink Partners upgraded shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $53.00 to $62.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Ionis Pharmaceuticals currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $60.71.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 0.0 %

Shares of IONS opened at $37.78 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $5.97 billion, a P/E ratio of -15.48 and a beta of 0.39. Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 12 month low of $35.95 and a 12 month high of $54.44. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $40.09 and its two-hundred day moving average is $42.84. The company has a current ratio of 8.91, a quick ratio of 8.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86.

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.