Illumina, Inc. $ILMN Stock: Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Trims Position

Key Points

• Pictet Asset Management cut its Illumina stake by 15.6% in the third quarter, selling 41,836 shares and retaining 226,745 shares worth about $61.8 million.
• Illumina beat quarterly earnings and revenue estimates, reporting EPS of $1.62 and revenue of $1.17 billion; revenue increased 4.2% year over year.
• Analyst views are mixed: the stock carries an average “Hold” rating and a consensus price target of $244.24, based on 10 Buy, six Hold, and three Sell ratings.

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lowered its holdings in Illumina, Inc. (NASDAQ:ILMN - Free Report) by 15.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 226,745 shares of the life sciences company's stock after selling 41,836 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA owned approximately 0.15% of Illumina worth $61,785,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Illumina in the third quarter worth $269,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Illumina by 111.4% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,091 shares of the life sciences company's stock valued at $290,000 after purchasing an additional 575 shares during the period. Heritage Family Offices LLP purchased a new stake in Illumina during the 3rd quarter worth about $209,000. Alta Advisers Ltd bought a new position in Illumina in the 3rd quarter worth about $303,000. Finally, Kestra Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in Illumina by 21.4% in the 3rd quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 5,416 shares of the life sciences company's stock worth $1,482,000 after purchasing an additional 953 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.42% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on ILMN shares. Zacks Research cut Illumina from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 1st. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of Illumina from $225.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, September 28th. Leerink Partners boosted their price objective on shares of Illumina from $220.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 29th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Illumina from $160.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 7th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a "market perform" rating and set a $215.00 target price on shares of Illumina in a report on Friday, July 31st. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Illumina has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $244.24.

Illumina Price Performance

NASDAQ:ILMN opened at $220.78 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization 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 52-week low of $112.65 and a 52-week high of $309.35. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $249.25 and a 200 day moving average of $178.46. 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 - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The life sciences company reported $1.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.15 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.34 EPS. The company's revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Illumina, Inc. will post 5.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Keith Meister sold 299,336 shares of the 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 transaction, the director owned 1,409,851 shares of the company's stock, valued at $307,291,123.96. This represents a 17.51% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 1,601,541 shares of company stock valued at $354,755,291. 2.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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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