TLDR
- Director Keith Meister sold $57.19 million in ILMN stock between September 2 and September 4
- ILMN is set to rejoin the S&P 500 on September 21, after being removed in June 2024
- The stock has gained 66.4% year-to-date and trades around $218
- Latest quarterly earnings beat estimates with revenue up 9.4% year over year to $1.16 billion
- TipRanks shows a Moderate Buy consensus, but the average price target of $197.44 implies 9.5% downside
Illumina (ILMN) director Keith Meister sold $57.19 million worth of ILMN stock last week, according to a Form 4 filed with the SEC. The transactions took place between September 2 and September 4, with 263,560 shares sold at prices ranging from around $213 to $221.55 per share.
The stock was trading around $218.22 during Friday’s session, dipping $3.44 on the day, before rising nearly 1% in extended trading after the S&P 500 inclusion news broke.
The sales were made through investment funds managed by Corvex Management, where Meister serves as controlling general partner. After the transactions, he retained indirect holdings of 770,350 shares plus 6,780 directly held shares. Insider selling can happen for many reasons, including portfolio management or profit-taking.
TipRanks data shows corporate insiders have sold $436.7 million in ILMN stock over the past three months, giving the company a Very Negative insider confidence signal.
Rejoining the S&P 500
ILMN is scheduled to join the S&P 500 before the open on September 21. Bloom Energy and Everpure will also join at the same time, replacing Builders FirstSource, Molson Coors Beverage, and Trade Desk as part of the index’s quarterly rebalance.
The index inclusion could drive extra demand for ILMN as funds tracking the S&P 500 adjust their holdings. To qualify, companies must have a market cap of at least $22.7 billion and meet profitability, liquidity, and public-float requirements.
This is a return trip for Illumina. The company was removed from the S&P 500 in June 2024 when the stock was trading near $107. It now trades more than 100% higher.
Earnings and Analyst Views
In its most recent quarter, reported July 30, Illumina posted EPS of $1.31, beating the consensus estimate of $1.23. Revenue came in at $1.16 billion, up 9.4% year over year and above the $1.13 billion estimate. The company set full-year 2026 EPS guidance at $5.30 to $5.40.
Illumina has now beaten earnings expectations in each of the past eight quarters.
Several brokerages raised their price targets following the earnings report. Guggenheim lifted its target from $200 to $226, Stifel Nicolaus raised from $155 to $225, Piper Sandler set a $225 target, and JPMorgan lifted its target from $220 to $230 with an overweight rating.
Argus went further, raising its target to $235 and upgrading the stock to buy.
On the other side, Zacks downgraded ILMN from strong buy to hold, citing the stock’s big run and valuation concerns. The consensus across MarketBeat sits at Hold, with an average price target of $191.31, below the current trading price.
The 52-week range for ILMN is $88.00 to $231.81. Institutional investors and hedge funds hold 89.42% of the stock.
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