'Illumina' Director Restructures Holdings Amidst Stock Surge and Swap Termination

Illumina, Inc. (NASDAQ: ILMN) announced that on May 7 and 11 the Covex Fund, led by director Keith A. Meister, unwound part of its equity swap and purchased new Illumina common shares, converting several tens of billions of Korean won of exposure from swap agreements into physical stock. On May 12, the fund acquired approximately $26.3 million (about KRW 340 billion) of shares at the same reference price while realizing gains on higher market prices embedded in the swap. Between May 13 and 14, it sold roughly $47–48 million (around KRW 600 billion) of shares on the open market, trimming its Covex-held position to about 3.5 million shares. After these transactions, Covex still retains a remaining swap position that allows it to receive up to 24,000 shares in kind through February 2028 at a strike price of $102.82 per share.

Illumina’s stock has nearly doubled over the past year after its first-quarter results beat market expectations. In recent weeks, alongside Meister’s large share sales, several long-term institutional investors have also been adjusting their Illumina holdings.

Headquartered in San Diego, Illumina is a global genomics leader, supplying next-generation sequencing systems and related reagents to research institutions, pharmaceutical companies and hospitals. Activist investor Keith Meister’s Covex Management has steadily increased its stake since joining the board in 2025. The recent swap unwind and open-market trades are viewed as efforts to reshape its equity structure.