Axa S.A. Reduces Stake in Illumina, Inc. (NASDAQ:ILMN)

Axa S.A. trimmed its stake in Illumina, Inc. (NASDAQ:ILMN) by 37.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 42,664 shares of the life sciences company’s stock after selling 26,016 shares during the period. Axa S.A.’s holdings in Illumina were worth $5,701,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of ILMN. Bleakley Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Illumina in the fourth quarter worth $751,000. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Illumina by 17.5% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 152,265 shares of the life sciences company’s stock worth $20,347,000 after acquiring an additional 22,718 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new position in shares of Illumina during the 4th quarter worth about $1,464,000. Allworth Financial LP grew its holdings in Illumina by 720.7% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 7,132 shares of the life sciences company’s stock valued at $1,001,000 after purchasing an additional 6,263 shares during the last quarter. Finally, C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors purchased a new stake in Illumina in the 4th quarter worth about $448,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.42% of the company’s stock.

Illumina Stock Down 4.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ ILMN opened at $74.53 on Wednesday. Illumina, Inc. has a 12-month low of $68.70 and a 12-month high of $156.66. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $79.46 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $114.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.80 billion, a PE ratio of -9.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a current ratio of 1.77, a quick ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63.

Illumina (NASDAQ:ILMN) last posted its earnings results 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, analysts expect that Illumina, Inc. will post 4.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Illumina from $150.00 to $136.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on Illumina from $128.00 to $112.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Hsbc Global Res downgraded Illumina from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Canaccord Genuity Group cut their price target on shares of Illumina from $115.00 to $92.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on shares of Illumina from $127.00 to $90.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Illumina has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $137.55.

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.