Illumina, Inc. (NASDAQ:ILMN) was in 28 hedge funds’ portfolio at the end of the first quarter of 2013. ILMN investors should be aware of a decrease in support from the world’s most elite money managers of late. There were 37 hedge funds in our database with ILMN holdings at the end of the previous quarter.
To most shareholders, hedge funds are perceived as slow, outdated investment tools of the past. While there are over 8000 funds trading today, we choose to focus on the elite of this club, about 450 funds. It is widely believed that this group oversees the majority of the smart money’s total asset base, and by keeping an eye on their highest performing picks, we have figured out a number of investment strategies that have historically beaten the S&P 500 index. Our small-cap hedge fund strategy outpaced the S&P 500 index by 18 percentage points a year for a decade in our back tests, and since we’ve started sharing our picks with our subscribers at the end of August 2012, we have trumped the S&P 500 index by 23.3 percentage points in 8 months (check out a sample of our picks).
Now, it’s important to take a gander at the key action regarding Illumina, Inc. (NASDAQ:ILMN).
What have hedge funds been doing with Illumina, Inc. (NASDAQ:ILMN)?
At Q1’s end, a total of 28 of the hedge funds we track were bullish in this stock, a change of -24% from one quarter earlier. With hedge funds’ positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists a select group of notable hedge fund managers who were upping their stakes meaningfully.
Of the funds we track, Citadel Investment Group, managed by Ken Griffin, holds the biggest position in Illumina, Inc. (NASDAQ:ILMN). Citadel Investment Group has a $103.5 million position in the stock, comprising 0.2% of its 13F portfolio. Coming in second is Sectoral Asset Management, managed by Jerome Pfund and Michael Sjostrom, which held a $95.2 million position; 2.9% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the company. Some other hedge funds with similar optimism include Samuel Isaly’s OrbiMed Advisors, Arthur B Cohen and Joseph Healey’s Healthcor Management LP and Jonathon Jacobson’s Highfields Capital Management.
Since Illumina, Inc. (NASDAQ:ILMN) has witnessed a declination in interest from the smart money, it’s safe to say that there lies a certain “tier” of fund managers who sold off their entire stakes last quarter. It’s worth mentioning that Dan Loeb’s Third Point said goodbye to the biggest investment of all the hedgies we track, comprising close to $83.4 million in stock.. Rob Citrone’s fund, Discovery Capital Management, also cut its stock, about $58.2 million worth. These transactions are intriguing to say the least, as total hedge fund interest dropped by 9 funds last quarter.
Insider trading activity in Illumina, Inc. (NASDAQ:ILMN)
Insider trading activity, especially when it’s bullish, is best served when the company in question has seen transactions within the past 180 days. Over the last half-year time frame, Illumina, Inc. (NASDAQ:ILMN) has seen zero unique insiders purchasing, and 11 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).
Let’s also take a look at hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to Illumina, Inc. (NASDAQ:ILMN). These stocks are Medivation Inc (NASDAQ:MDVN), Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX), Seattle Genetics, Inc. (NASDAQ:SGEN), BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc. (NASDAQ:BMRN), and Onyx Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:ONXX). This group of stocks are the members of the biotechnology industry and their market caps are similar to ILMN’s market cap.
| Company Name | # of Hedge Funds | # of Insiders Buying | # of Insiders Selling |
| Medivation Inc (NASDAQ:MDVN) | 34 | 0 | 3 |
| Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) | 22 | 0 | 7 |
| Seattle Genetics, Inc. (NASDAQ:SGEN) | 8 | 0 | 8 |
| BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc. (NASDAQ:BMRN) | 22 | 3 | 13 |
| Onyx Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:ONXX) | 29 | 0 | 13 |
With the results shown by Insider Monkey’s time-tested strategies, everyday investors should always keep an eye on hedge fund and insider trading sentiment, and Illumina, Inc. (NASDAQ:ILMN) applies perfectly to this mantra.
