Empowered Funds LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Illumina, Inc. $ILMN

Key Points

• Empowered Funds LLC more than doubled its Illumina stake in the first quarter, increasing holdings by 104.2% to 12,996 shares valued at approximately $1.6 million. Institutional investors collectively own 89.42% of the company.
• Illumina reported quarterly EPS of $1.31, beating estimates of $1.23, while revenue reached $1.16 billion and rose 9.4% year over year. The company maintained fiscal 2026 EPS guidance of $5.30 to $5.40.
• Insider selling and mixed analyst views remain notable risks: insiders sold $303.9 million of stock last quarter, while analysts’ consensus rating is “Hold” with an average price target of $188.40, despite some firms raising targets as high as $230.

Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in Illumina, Inc. (NASDAQ:ILMN - Free Report) by 104.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 12,996 shares of the life sciences company's stock after purchasing an additional 6,633 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC's holdings in Illumina were worth $1,602,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of Illumina by 235.8% during the first quarter. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC now owns 11,080 shares of the life sciences company's stock worth $1,366,000 after acquiring an additional 7,780 shares during the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new stake in Illumina in the first quarter valued at $5,460,000. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its stake in Illumina by 8.0% in the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 86,318 shares of the life sciences company's stock valued at $10,640,000 after purchasing an additional 6,425 shares in the last quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al grew its position in shares of Illumina by 27.4% in the fourth quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al now owns 348,011 shares of the life sciences company's stock valued at $45,645,000 after purchasing an additional 74,900 shares during the last quarter. Finally, New York State Teachers Retirement System boosted its stake in shares of Illumina by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 149,638 shares of the life sciences company's stock worth $19,627,000 after purchasing an additional 4,002 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.42% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Scott D. Ericksen sold 1,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.10, for a total transaction of $225,150.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 14,946 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,243,394.60. This represents a 9.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Keith A. Meister sold 457,858 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.10, for a total value of $91,617,385.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 2,372,694 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $474,776,069.40. This trade represents a 16.18% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 1,744,811 shares of company stock worth $303,897,291 over the last quarter. 2.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Illumina Stock Performance

ILMN stock opened at $187.96 on Friday. Illumina, Inc. has a 12 month low of $88.00 and a 12 month high of $207.00. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $181.13 and a two-hundred day moving average of $149.05. The company has a market capitalization of $28.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.07, a P/E/G ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a quick ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 1.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53.

Illumina (NASDAQ:ILMN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The life sciences company reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.23 by $0.08. Illumina had a return on equity of 29.84% and a net margin of 18.36%.The company had revenue of $1.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.13 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.19 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. Illumina has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.300-5.400 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Illumina, Inc. will post 5.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Key Stories Impacting Illumina

Here are the key news stories impacting Illumina this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks upgraded Illumina to Rank #1, or “Strong Buy,” citing improving earnings prospects and strong momentum characteristics. The upgrade could attract near-term buying interest. What Makes Illumina a New Strong Buy Stock
• Positive Sentiment: Illumina’s latest quarterly results provide a supportive backdrop: earnings per share exceeded estimates, revenue topped forecasts, and sales increased 9.4% year over year. The company continues to guide to fiscal 2026 EPS of $5.30 to $5.40. Recent bullish analysts have raised price targets as high as $230. Illumina Earnings and Analyst Information
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst opinion remains divided. Although several firms maintain Buy or Outperform ratings, the consensus rating is “Hold,” with an average price target of $188.40—close to recent trading levels—suggesting limited consensus upside.
• Negative Sentiment: Director Keith A. Meister sold 741,127 shares across August 4 and 5 for approximately $148.2 million, reducing his position by about 28%. He retains more than 2 million shares, but the size of the transactions may pressure sentiment and raise concerns about insider confidence. Illumina Insider Trading Filing
• Negative Sentiment: Bank of America Securities reiterated its “Sell” rating and $140 price target, arguing that a one-time consumables benefit may be masking weak underlying demand. The target is well below recent levels, highlighting valuation and sustainability concerns. Bank of America Maintains Sell Rating

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on ILMN. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Illumina from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 1st. Guggenheim lifted their target price on Illumina from $200.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price target on Illumina from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday. Daiwa Securities Group raised shares of Illumina from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $155.00 target price for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on Illumina from $170.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $188.40.

Illumina Company Profile

Illumina, Inc NASDAQ: ILMN is a global life sciences company that develops, manufactures and markets integrated systems for the analysis of genetic variation and function. Headquartered in San Diego, California and founded in 1998, Illumina offers a range of sequencing and array-based technologies used by academic researchers, clinical laboratories, pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, consumer genomics firms and agricultural researchers to enable discovery, translational research and clinical applications.

The company's product portfolio includes next-generation sequencing (NGS) platforms and associated consumables, microarrays for genotyping and methylation analysis, library preparation kits and targeted assays.

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