Lecap Asset Management Ltd. Invests $2.85 Million in Illumina, Inc. (NASDAQ:ILMN)

Lecap Asset Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Illumina, Inc. (NASDAQ:ILMN) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 21,298 shares of the life sciences company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,846,000. Illumina accounts for 0.8% of Lecap Asset Management Ltd.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest holding.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in Illumina by 148.6% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,056,172 shares of the life sciences company’s stock valued at $137,735,000 after acquiring an additional 631,294 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its position in shares of Illumina by 40.5% during the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,168,057 shares of the life sciences company’s stock valued at $282,735,000 after purchasing an additional 625,245 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its stake in Illumina by 116.9% in the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 865,546 shares of the life sciences company’s stock worth $115,663,000 after purchasing an additional 466,519 shares during the period. Iron Triangle Partners LP bought a new position in Illumina in the third quarter worth $57,380,000. Finally, FMR LLC lifted its position in Illumina by 127.3% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 767,294 shares of the life sciences company’s stock valued at $100,063,000 after buying an additional 429,723 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.42% of the company’s stock.

Illumina Trading Down 1.5 %

NASDAQ ILMN opened at $122.80 on Friday. Illumina, Inc. has a 52 week low of $100.08 and a 52 week high of $156.66. The company has a quick ratio of 1.85, a current ratio of 2.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $137.80 and its 200-day moving average price is $135.42.

Illumina (NASDAQ:ILMN) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The life sciences company reported $0.86 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.92 by ($0.06). Illumina had a positive return on equity of 7.29% and a negative net margin of 36.10%. Equities research analysts predict that Illumina, Inc. will post 4.13 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on ILMN shares. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Illumina from $156.00 to $150.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Leerink Partners upped their price objective on shares of Illumina from $160.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Illumina from $124.00 to $139.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Stephens upped their price target on shares of Illumina from $170.00 to $184.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Illumina from $252.00 to $254.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $164.84.

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.