12,886 Illumina, Inc. $ILMN Shares Sold by M&G PLC

Key Points

• M&G PLC reduced its Illumina stake by 3.2%, selling 12,886 shares in the third quarter; it retained 391,322 shares valued at about $107.2 million.
• Illumina beat quarterly earnings and revenue expectations, reporting EPS of $1.62 and revenue of $1.17 billion; revenue rose 4.2% year over year.
• Analyst views are mixed: the consensus rating is “Hold,” with an average price target of $244.24. Insiders also sold about $354.8 million in shares over the past 90 days.

M&G PLC trimmed its position in Illumina, Inc. (NASDAQ:ILMN - Free Report) by 3.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 391,322 shares of the life sciences company's stock after selling 12,886 shares during the period. M&G PLC owned about 0.26% of Illumina worth $107,222,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of Illumina in the 2nd quarter valued at about $3,374,423,000. Plato Investment Management Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Illumina during the second quarter worth approximately $948,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Illumina in the second quarter valued at approximately $30,501,000. Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. acquired a new position in Illumina in the second quarter valued at approximately $129,792,000. Finally, OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd acquired a new position in Illumina in the second quarter valued at approximately $6,711,000. 89.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Keith Meister sold 299,336 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $217.96, for a total value of $65,243,274.56. Following the sale, the director directly owned 1,409,851 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $307,291,123.96. The trade was a 17.51% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold a total of 1,601,541 shares of company stock valued at $354,755,291 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 2.90% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ILMN has been the topic of several recent research reports. Citigroup raised their price target on Illumina from $113.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research report on Monday, November 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Illumina from $320.00 to $300.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 30th. TD Cowen increased their target price on Illumina from $210.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated a "market perform" rating and set a $215.00 target price on shares of Illumina in a report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Illumina from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday. 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 currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $244.24.

Illumina Trading Up 3.6%

Shares of NASDAQ ILMN opened at $220.78 on Tuesday. The company's fifty day moving average is $249.25 and its 200-day moving average is $178.46. The stock has a market cap of $33.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.00, a P/E/G ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 1.46. Illumina, Inc. has a twelve month low of $112.65 and a twelve month high of $309.35. The company has a quick ratio of 2.05, a current ratio of 2.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57.

Illumina (NASDAQ:ILMN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 29th. The life sciences company reported $1.62 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.36 by $0.26. Illumina had a net margin of 19.72% and a return on equity of 28.38%. The business had revenue of $1.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.15 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.34 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Illumina, Inc. will post 5.43 EPS for the current year.

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.

Founded in 1998 and headquartered in San Diego, California, Illumina serves customers internationally.

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