Royal Bank of Canada Sells 223,769 Shares of Illumina, Inc. $ILMN

Royal Bank of Canada lessened its stake in shares of Illumina, Inc. (NASDAQ:ILMN) by 34.3% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 429,193 shares of the life sciences company’s stock after selling 223,769 shares during the quarter. Royal Bank of Canada’s holdings in Illumina were worth $52,902,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in Illumina by 104.2% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 12,996 shares of the life sciences company’s stock worth $1,602,000 after purchasing an additional 6,633 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its holdings in shares of Illumina by 40.0% during the first quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 117,317 shares of the life sciences company’s stock valued at $14,460,000 after purchasing an additional 33,514 shares during the period. Quantinno Capital Management LP boosted its position in shares of Illumina by 18.5% during the 1st quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 617,543 shares of the life sciences company’s stock worth $76,118,000 after purchasing an additional 96,605 shares in the last quarter. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Illumina by 20.0% during the 1st quarter. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP now owns 2,100,000 shares of the life sciences company’s stock worth $258,846,000 after purchasing an additional 349,536 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cardiff Park Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Illumina by 258.3% in the 1st quarter. Cardiff Park Advisors LLC now owns 6,137 shares of the life sciences company’s stock valued at $756,000 after buying an additional 4,424 shares during the period. 89.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Illumina Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ILMN opened at $205.10 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $31.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.26, a PEG ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 1.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a current ratio of 1.80. Illumina, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $88.00 and a fifty-two week high of $205.93. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $176.70 and its 200 day simple moving average is $147.25.

Illumina (NASDAQ:ILMN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The life sciences company reported $1.31 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 firm had revenue of $1.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.13 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.19 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Illumina has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.300-5.400 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Illumina, Inc. will post 5.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on ILMN shares. Leerink Partners upped their price target on Illumina from $175.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Illumina in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Illumina from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their target price on Illumina from $140.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group upgraded Illumina from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $155.00 target price on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Illumina presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $175.47.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Keith A. Meister sold 235,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.63, for a total value of $38,453,050.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 2,830,452 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $463,146,860.76. This represents a 7.67% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Scott M. Davies sold 615 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.00, for a total value of $110,700.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 20,953 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,771,540. This trade represents a 2.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 1,003,769 shares of company stock worth $155,710,908. 2.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Illumina News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Illumina this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q2 results exceeded expectations: Illumina reported $1.16 billion in revenue, up approximately 9.4%–9.5% year over year, while non-GAAP diluted EPS of $1.31 topped the $1.23 consensus estimate. Clinical demand and NovaSeq X placements were key growth drivers. Illumina Q2 financial results
• Positive Sentiment: Full-year guidance was raised: Management increased fiscal 2026 non-GAAP EPS guidance to $5.30–$5.40 and revenue guidance to approximately $4.60–$4.64 billion, modestly ahead of analyst expectations. Illumina outlook
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts raised price targets: JPMorgan lifted its target to $230 and maintained an “overweight” rating; Stifel raised its target to $225 and assigned a “buy” rating. TD Cowen increased its target to $210 but retained a “hold” rating. These revisions signal greater confidence in Illumina’s earnings outlook, although targets vary considerably.
• Positive Sentiment: AI and drug-discovery opportunities remain a catalyst: CEO Jacob Thaysen highlighted genomic medicine and artificial intelligence applications in life sciences. Eli Lilly also joined Illumina’s Billion Cell Atlas alliance, which aims to create large-scale genomic datasets for identifying disease mechanisms and drug targets. Eli Lilly joins Billion Cell Atlas
• Neutral Sentiment: Investors are taking profits near record levels: With ILMN trading close to its one-year high, the strong results may have prompted a “sell-the-news” response as investors sought evidence of further upside beyond the guidance increase.
• Negative Sentiment: China and margins remain concerns: Greater China revenue declined 12%, while full-year non-GAAP operating-margin guidance remained unchanged at 23.4%–23.6%. Management also expects NovaSeq X instrument-placement growth to moderate year over year in the second half. Illumina China and margin analysis
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling may add pressure: Reported insider activity over the past six months included 41 sales and one purchase, though such transactions may reflect scheduled or personal portfolio activity rather than a direct view of fundamentals.

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.