KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Purchases New Shares in Illumina, Inc. (NASDAQ:ILMN)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new position in Illumina, Inc. (NASDAQ:ILMN) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 60,245 shares of the life sciences company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,051,000.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in shares of Illumina by 153.7% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 241 shares of the life sciences company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 146 shares in the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Illumina during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Assetmark Inc. grew its holdings in Illumina by 954.8% in the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 327 shares of the life sciences company’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing 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 approximately $45,000. Finally, Lee Danner & Bass Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Illumina during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Institutional investors own 89.42% of the company’s stock.

Illumina Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ILMN opened at $88.02 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 1.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.94 billion, a PE ratio of -11.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.17. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $107.08 and its 200-day moving average price is $127.97. Illumina, Inc. has a twelve month low of $80.18 and a twelve month high of $156.66.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on ILMN shares. Barclays restated an “underweight” rating on shares of Illumina in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Canaccord Genuity Group reduced their price target on Illumina from $135.00 to $115.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Robert W. Baird dropped 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. TD Cowen lowered shares of Illumina from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $177.00 to $140.00 in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Guggenheim dropped their target price on shares of Illumina from $170.00 to $150.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock 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.