Insider Trading February 18, 2026

Illumina Chief People Officer Disposes of $275K in Shares as Stock Later Climbs

Patricia Leckman sold 3,674 shares across two transactions in mid-February; Illumina posted strong Q4 2025 results and management buybacks persist

By Ajmal Hussain ILMN
Illumina Chief People Officer Disposes of $275K in Shares as Stock Later Climbs
ILMN

Patricia Leckman, Illumina's Senior Vice President and Chief People Officer, sold a total of 3,674 shares of Illumina common stock in mid-February 2026 across two transactions valued at $427,275. Despite the insider sales, Illumina's stock has risen sharply since the sales and the company reported better-than-expected Q4 2025 results. Management share repurchases and mixed analyst views on guidance accompany the recent activity.

Key Points

  • Patricia Leckman sold 2,370 shares on Feb. 18, 2026 at $116.18 (value $275,346) and 1,304 shares on Feb. 15, 2026 at $116.51 (value $151,929), totaling 3,674 shares sold mid-February.
  • Illumina's stock has since traded up to $167.76, a 44% increase from Leckman's Feb. 18 sale price, and InvestingPro reports an 80.18% price return over the past six months; Illumina reported Q4 2025 EPS of $1.35 on $1.16 billion revenue, both above consensus.
  • InvestingPro notes active management share buybacks despite insider selling; analysts are split with Stifel reiterating Buy ($155 target) and Canaccord Genuity holding at $150, while Stifel flagged certain guidance assumptions for further analysis.

Key insider transactions

Patricia Leckman, who serves as Senior Vice President and Chief People Officer at Illumina, INC. (NASDAQ:ILMN), reported two disposals of common stock in mid-February 2026. A Form 4 filing shows Leckman sold 2,370 shares on February 18, 2026, at $116.18 per share, for a total transaction value of $275,346. Three days earlier, on February 15, 2026, she sold 1,304 shares at $116.51 each, which was recorded as a $151,929 sale.

Shareholdings and market movement

After those transactions, Leckman retains direct ownership of 16,321 Illumina shares. The price at which she sold in mid-February has since been substantially exceeded: Illumina's stock reached $167.76, a rise of 44% relative to the $116.18 sale price. Over a broader timeframe, InvestingPro data indicates the company has delivered an 80.18% price return over the past six months.

Corporate actions and financial backdrop

While the filings document insider selling, InvestingPro notes that Illumina's management has been an active buyer of shares through repurchase activity. InvestingPro also assigns Illumina a fair financial health score of 2.3.

On the earnings front, Illumina posted a strong fourth quarter for 2025. Reported earnings per share were $1.35, outpacing the $1.22 consensus estimate. Revenue came in at $1.16 billion versus an expected $1.1 billion. Management attributed the performance in part to robust revenue outside China and growth in consumables, driven largely by ongoing adoption of the NovaSeq X platform.

Analyst stances and guidance considerations

Following the results, Stifel reiterated a Buy rating on Illumina with a $155.00 price target. Canaccord Genuity maintained a Hold rating and a $150.00 price target, describing conditions as stabilizing. Stifel commented that Illumina's 2026 guidance was generally consistent with expectations but flagged that some assumptions embedded in the forecast will require additional review.

Even with the beat on quarterly results, the stock exhibited a modest decline in after-hours trading.


Contextual note

The transactions and company performance outlined here are drawn from regulatory filings and InvestingPro data as reported. The available disclosures show insider disposals, continued buyback activity by management, and recent quarterly outperformance against analyst forecasts.

Risks

  • Some assumptions within Illumina's 2026 guidance require additional analysis, creating uncertainty for forecasts and investor expectations - this affects equity valuations in the healthcare and biotech sectors.
  • Despite better-than-expected Q4 2025 results, the stock registered a slight after-hours decline, indicating potential short-term volatility in market reaction to earnings - relevant to traders and equity-focused investors.
  • Insider selling juxtaposed with management buybacks may complicate signals about insider sentiment versus corporate capital allocation, impacting investor interpretation in the genomics and life sciences equipment subsectors.

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