Illumina (NASDAQ:ILMN) Stock: Insider Keith Meister Sells 62,691 Shares

Illumina, Inc. (NASDAQ:ILMN) Director Keith Meister sold 62,691 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.48, for a total value of $13,508,656.68. Following the sale, the director directly owned 307,659 shares in the company, valued at $66,294,361.32. This trade represents a 16.93% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Illumina Stock Down 1.6%

Shares of NASDAQ:ILMN traded down $3.38 on Thursday, reaching $209.55. The company had a trading volume of 1,726,386 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,186,053. The firm has a market capitalization of $31.68 billion, a PE ratio of 36.07, a PEG ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a current ratio of 2.63, a quick ratio of 2.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. Illumina, Inc. has a 52-week low of $112.65 and a 52-week high of $309.35. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $249.39 and its 200-day simple moving average is $179.08.

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ILMN. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Illumina in the second quarter worth about $3,374,423,000. Primecap Management Co. CA purchased a new stake in shares of Illumina during the second quarter worth about $617,981,000. Jupiter Topco LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Illumina during the second quarter worth about $358,652,000. WCM Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Illumina by 45.5% during the first quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 5,923,173 shares of the life sciences company’s stock valued at $715,579,000 after acquiring an additional 1,851,848 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in shares of Illumina during the second quarter valued at about $293,846,000. 89.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on ILMN. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $215.00 price target on shares of Illumina in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Illumina from $113.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, November 2nd. UBS Group raised shares of Illumina from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $135.00 to $260.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 9th. Leerink Partners boosted their price objective on shares of Illumina from $220.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Illumina from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 7th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $244.24.

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.