Keith Meister Sells 220,000 Shares of Illumina (NASDAQ:ILMN) Stock

Key Points

• Director Keith Meister sold 220,000 Illumina shares on May 28 at an average price of $152.27, worth about $33.5 million. The sale reduced his stake by 6.29%, and the transaction was disclosed in an SEC filing.
• Illumina’s stock has been trading near its 52-week high, recently rising to $164.40, close to the high of $165.97. Trading volume also ran above average in the session cited.
• The company reported solid quarterly results, with earnings and revenue both beating analyst expectations. Illumina also raised guidance, with FY 2026 EPS forecast at 5.150 to 5.300, while analysts currently have a consensus price target of $138.38 and a “Hold” rating overall.

Illumina, Inc. (NASDAQ:ILMN - Get Free Report) Director Keith Meister sold 220,000 shares of Illumina stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.27, for a total value of $33,499,400.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 3,280,048 shares of the company's stock, valued at $499,452,908.96. This trade represents a 6.29% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

Illumina Stock Performance

Illumina stock traded up $1.44 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $164.40. 2,190,450 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,870,323. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.87 billion, a PE ratio of 29.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.50. Illumina, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $78.79 and a fifty-two week high of $165.97. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $133.73 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $132.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a current ratio of 1.75.

Illumina (NASDAQ:ILMN - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The life sciences company reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.05 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $1.09 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.07 billion. Illumina had a return on equity of 31.01% and a net margin of 19.42%.Illumina's revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.97 earnings per share. Illumina has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.150-5.300 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Illumina, Inc. will post 5.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Robert W. Baird set a $137.00 price objective on shares of Illumina in a report on Friday, February 6th. Guggenheim increased their target price on shares of Illumina from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday. Evercore restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Illumina in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Daiwa Securities Group upgraded Illumina from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $155.00 price target for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada initiated coverage on Illumina in a report on Thursday, May 14th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $170.00 price target for the company. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Illumina has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $138.38.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its position in shares of Illumina by 7.9% during the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,081 shares of the life sciences company's stock worth $142,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Illumina by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC now owns 2,218 shares of the life sciences company's stock valued at $291,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. lifted its position in shares of Illumina by 3.1% in the first quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 2,822 shares of the life sciences company's stock valued at $348,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank lifted its position in shares of Illumina by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 33,605 shares of the life sciences company's stock valued at $4,407,000 after acquiring an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assetmark Inc. lifted its position in shares of Illumina by 10.2% in the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,039 shares of the life sciences company's stock valued at $99,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.42% of the company's stock.

Key Illumina News

Here are the key news stories impacting Illumina this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Guggenheim raised its price target on Illumina to $180 from $170 and kept a Buy rating, signaling continued confidence in the company’s upside potential and valuation. Benzinga article
• Positive Sentiment: Integrated DNA Technologies said its oncology research workflows are now optimized on Illumina software, which could support broader adoption of Illumina’s ecosystem and strengthen its positioning in cancer research tools. Business Wire article
• Neutral Sentiment: Chief accounting officer Scott D. Ericksen sold a small number of shares under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan; while routine, it adds to recent insider selling activity. SEC filing
• Negative Sentiment: Director Keith A. Meister sold a very large block of Illumina shares in multiple transactions around May 28-June 1, reducing his stake materially. Large insider sales can weigh on sentiment even when they do not necessarily reflect operational weakness. SEC filing

About Illumina

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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