Illumina (NASDAQ:ILMN) Director Keith Meister Sells 118,567 Shares of Company Stock

Illumina, Inc. (NASDAQ:ILMN) Director Keith Meister sold 118,567 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.55, for a total value of $26,149,951.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 370,350 shares in the company, valued at $81,680,692.50. This represents a 24.25% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Illumina Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ILMN opened at $209.55 on Friday. Illumina, Inc. has a one year low of $112.65 and a one year high of $309.35. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $249.32 and a 200-day moving average of $179.36. The company has a market capitalization of $31.68 billion, a PE ratio of 40.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 2.05 and a current ratio of 2.63.

Illumina (NASDAQ:ILMN) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The life sciences company reported $1.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.36 by $0.26. The business had revenue of $1.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.15 billion. Illumina had a return on equity of 28.38% and a net margin of 19.72%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.34 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Illumina, Inc. will post 5.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Illumina

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Illumina in the 2nd quarter worth about $3,374,423,000. WCM Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Illumina by 45.5% during the 1st quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 5,923,173 shares of the life sciences company’s stock valued at $715,579,000 after buying an additional 1,851,848 shares during the last quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA acquired a new stake in shares of Illumina during the 2nd quarter valued at about $617,981,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its stake in shares of Illumina by 1.4% in the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,100,638 shares of the life sciences company’s stock valued at $258,924,000 after buying an additional 29,094 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Southpoint Capital Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Illumina by 20.0% in the 1st quarter. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP now owns 2,100,000 shares of the life sciences company’s stock valued at $258,846,000 after buying an additional 349,536 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.42% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on ILMN. Evercore reaffirmed an “underperform” rating on shares of Illumina in a research note on Friday, October 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Illumina from $320.00 to $300.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 30th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on Illumina from $225.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 28th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Illumina from $155.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price target on Illumina from $205.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 19th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $244.24.

Key Headlines Impacting Illumina

Here are a few of the latest headlines about ILMN:

• Positive Sentiment: The company expanded its molecular residual disease research portfolio with an ultrasensitive duplex sequencing workflow for circulating tumor DNA and was selected to provide whole-genome sequencing services for Singapore’s SG-INSIGHT precision-medicine study. These developments support its push into clinical oncology and sequencing applications. Illumina (ILMN) Unveils Duplex Sequencing Workflow For MRD Research
• Neutral Sentiment: Illumina’s chief accounting officer sold 267 shares under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan, a relatively small transaction that may be less informative about the executive’s view of the company. SEC filing
• Negative Sentiment: Director Keith Meister sold 280,091 shares over November 9–11 for approximately $61.1 million, reducing his direct holdings to 208,826 shares. The scale of the sales could raise concerns among investors, despite his continuing substantial ownership. SEC filing

About Illumina

Illumina, Inc. develops and supplies technologies used to analyze genetic variation and biological function. Its products include next-generation sequencing systems, microarrays, reagents and consumables, as well as software and related services that help customers generate and interpret genomic data. The company’s technology is used in applications such as medical and population research, genetic testing, drug development, and agricultural and environmental studies. Its customers include academic and government research institutions, hospitals and clinical laboratories, biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies, and other organizations around the world.