Illumina (NASDAQ:ILMN) Shares Up 4.4% - Should You Buy?

Key Points

• Illumina shares rose 4.4% to $217.43, outperforming the consensus analyst price target of $199.12. The stock trades above its 50-day and 200-day moving averages, but its overall analyst consensus remains “Hold.”
• Recent analyst views are mixed: Stifel Nicolaus and Piper Sandler raised their price targets to $225 and maintained positive ratings, while Barclays kept an “Underweight” rating and Zacks Research downgraded the stock to “Hold.”
• Illumina exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $1.31 in EPS and $1.16 billion in revenue, with revenue up 9.4% year over year. However, insiders sold more than 2 million shares worth approximately $436.6 million in the last quarter, while institutional investors own 89.42% of the stock.

Shares of Illumina, Inc. (NASDAQ:ILMN - Get Free Report) rose 4.4% on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $216.23 and last traded at $217.43. Approximately 428,010 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 77% from the average daily volume of 1,894,535 shares. The stock had previously closed at $208.21.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Illumina from $155.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Illumina from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 1st. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Illumina from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $225.00 price objective (up from $200.00) on shares of Illumina in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Illumina in a research note on Monday, August 31st. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Illumina currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $199.12.

Illumina Stock Performance

The company's 50-day moving average is $201.17 and its two-hundred day moving average is $163.08. The company has a quick ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 1.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The company has a market cap of $33.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.46.

Illumina (NASDAQ:ILMN - Get Free Report) last released its 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.13 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.19 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. Illumina has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.300-5.400 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Illumina, Inc. will post 5.36 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Illumina news, Director Keith Meister sold 457,858 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.10, for a total transaction of $91,617,385.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 2,372,694 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $474,776,069.40. This represents a 16.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders sold a total of 2,062,465 shares of company stock valued at $436,589,802 in the last quarter. 2.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Illumina

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ILMN. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of Illumina by 10.3% during the second quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 93,728 shares of the life sciences company's stock valued at $16,480,000 after purchasing an additional 8,726 shares during the period. MCF Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Illumina by 172.4% in the second quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 158 shares of the life sciences company's stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. National Pension Service raised its holdings in Illumina by 246.7% during the 2nd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 369,856 shares of the life sciences company's stock valued at $65,032,000 after buying an additional 263,172 shares during the last quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd purchased a new stake in Illumina during the 2nd quarter valued at $6,041,000. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its position in Illumina by 8.6% during the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 4,740 shares of the life sciences company's stock valued at $833,000 after buying an additional 377 shares during the period. 89.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Illumina

Illumina, Inc develops and manufactures genomic analysis technologies used by researchers, healthcare providers, pharmaceutical companies and other organizations. Its offerings include next-generation DNA sequencing systems, microarray platforms, consumables, laboratory services and bioinformatics software designed to help analyze genetic variation and biological functions.

The company's sequencing instruments include systems for a range of applications and throughput levels, such as the NovaSeq, NextSeq, MiSeq and iSeq platforms.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.