Illumina, Inc. (NASDAQ:ILMN) Stock Now Rated "Hold" by Sell-Side Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts have a consensus “Hold” rating on Illumina, with 10 buys, six holds and two sells; the average 12-month price target is $219.69, below the reported share price of $273.54.
• Illumina exceeded quarterly earnings and revenue expectations and raised fiscal 2026 adjusted EPS guidance to $5.30–$5.40, supported by improving clinical sequencing demand and recent analyst price-target increases.
• Despite positive momentum, the stock’s elevated valuation and substantial insider selling—including a $26.1 million sale by director Keith Meister—remain potential reasons for investor caution.

Illumina, Inc. (NASDAQ:ILMN - Get Free Report) has earned a consensus rating of "Hold" from the eighteen brokerages that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have issued a hold recommendation and ten have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $219.69.

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on ILMN shares. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Illumina from $225.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, September 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Illumina from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. UBS Group upgraded Illumina from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $135.00 to $260.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 9th. Wall Street Zen lowered Illumina from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday. Finally, Argus boosted their price objective on Illumina from $180.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, September 3rd.

Illumina Price Performance

NASDAQ:ILMN opened at $273.54 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $41.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.03, a PEG ratio of 4.16 and a beta of 1.41. Illumina has a one year low of $88.00 and a one year high of $309.35. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $223.07 and a 200 day moving average price of $178.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 1.80 and a quick ratio of 1.40.

Illumina (NASDAQ:ILMN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The life sciences company reported $1.31 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.23 by $0.08. Illumina had a net margin of 18.36% and a return on equity of 29.84%. The firm had revenue of $1.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.13 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.19 EPS. The business's revenue was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. Illumina has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.300-5.400 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Illumina will post 5.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Illumina

In other news, SVP Christensen Wedel sold 1,033 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.52, for a total value of $197,840.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 14,023 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,685,684.96. This represents a 6.86% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Keith Meister sold 119,501 shares of Illumina stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $218.40, for a total transaction of $26,099,018.40. Following the sale, the director owned 770,350 shares in the company, valued at approximately $168,244,440. This trade represents a 13.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 2,061,850 shares of company stock worth $436,479,102 in the last three months. Insiders own 2.90% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Illumina

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Illumina during the 2nd quarter worth about $3,374,423,000. Plato Investment Management Ltd bought a new stake in Illumina during the second quarter worth about $948,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Illumina during the second quarter worth approximately $30,501,000. Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Illumina during the second quarter worth approximately $129,792,000. Finally, Impact Partnership Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of Illumina by 235.8% in the first quarter. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC now owns 11,080 shares of the life sciences company's stock valued at $1,366,000 after acquiring an additional 7,780 shares during the last quarter. 89.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Key Stories Impacting Illumina

Here are the key news stories impacting Illumina this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analyst optimism remains a key support. RBC Capital Markets raised its price target to $310 from $230 and maintained an “outperform” rating, citing improving clinical sequencing demand. RBC also characterized clinical sequencing revenue as a durable mid-teens growth opportunity. Illumina clinical sequencing revenue article
• Positive Sentiment: The recent rally was fueled by expectations for stronger clinical sales, additional business catalysts, and a potential role for genomic sequencing data as artificial-intelligence infrastructure. Illumina’s September addition to the S&P 500 may also support demand from index-tracking funds. Illumina shares rally article
• Neutral Sentiment: Illumina’s latest reported quarter exceeded consensus expectations for both earnings and revenue, while management raised full-year 2026 adjusted EPS guidance to $5.30–$5.40. These fundamentals provide longer-term support, although investors are now weighing them against the stock’s elevated valuation.
• Negative Sentiment: Barclays raised its price target to $200 from $160 but retained an underweight rating. The target remains well below recent trading levels, signaling that the bank believes expectations and valuation have outpaced near-term fundamentals. Barclays Illumina price target article
• Negative Sentiment: Reported insider activity has been heavily weighted toward selling, including substantial sales attributed to Keith Meister. While insider transactions do not necessarily reflect operating performance, the selling may add to investor caution after the recent surge. Illumina momentum and insider activity article

Illumina Company Profile

Illumina, Inc develops and manufactures technologies used to analyze genetic variation and biological function. Its products are primarily based on next-generation sequencing, a method that enables researchers and clinicians to read DNA and RNA for applications including genomic research, disease studies, drug development and clinical testing.

The company offers sequencing instruments, consumables such as reagent kits and flow cells, and related software and informatics solutions. Illumina also provides services and support designed to help customers prepare samples, run sequencing workflows, interpret genomic data and integrate results into research or clinical operations.

Founded in 1998 and headquartered in San Diego, California, Illumina serves customers worldwide, including academic and government research institutions, pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, hospitals, clinical laboratories and other healthcare organizations.

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