AKO Capital LLP Makes New Investment in Illumina, Inc. (NASDAQ:ILMN)

AKO Capital LLP acquired a new position in Illumina, Inc. (NASDAQ:ILMN) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 495,286 shares of the life sciences company’s stock, valued at approximately $66,185,000. Illumina accounts for 0.9% of AKO Capital LLP’s holdings, making the stock its 24th largest position. AKO Capital LLP owned approximately 0.31% of Illumina as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in shares of Illumina by 153.7% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 241 shares of the life sciences company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares during the period. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Illumina in the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Assetmark Inc. increased its position in shares of Illumina by 954.8% in the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 327 shares of the life sciences company’s stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 296 shares during the period. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich bought a new position in shares of Illumina during the fourth quarter valued at about $45,000. Finally, Lee Danner & Bass Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Illumina in the fourth quarter worth about $48,000. Institutional investors own 89.42% of the company’s stock.

Illumina Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of Illumina stock opened at $82.28 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.77 and a quick ratio of 1.42. The stock has a market cap of $13.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.71, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.17. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $103.93 and its two-hundred day moving average is $127.08. Illumina, Inc. has a 1 year low of $80.18 and a 1 year high of $156.66.

Illumina (NASDAQ:ILMN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The life sciences company reported $0.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.92 by ($0.06). Illumina had a negative net margin of 27.95% and a positive return on equity of 13.37%. As a group, research analysts expect that Illumina, Inc. will post 4.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on ILMN shares. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on shares of Illumina from $127.00 to $90.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. TD Cowen cut Illumina from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $177.00 to $140.00 in a report on Friday, February 7th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on Illumina from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Hsbc Global Res cut Illumina from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set a $156.00 price objective on shares of Illumina in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $140.90.

About Illumina

Illumina, Inc offers sequencing- and array-based solutions for genetic and genomic analysis in the United States, Singapore, the United Kingdom, and internationally. It operates through Core Illumina and GRAIL segments. The company offers sequencing and array-based instruments and consumables, which include reagents, flow cells, and library preparation; whole-genome sequencing kits, which sequence entire genomes of various size and complexity; and targeted resequencing kits, which sequence exomes, specific genes, and RNA or other genomic regions of interest.