Illumina (NASDAQ:ILMN) Stock Price Up 5% - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• Illumina shares rose 5% to approximately $268.14 in mid-day trading, although trading volume was 83% below the stock’s average daily volume.
• Analysts have raised several price targets, but the overall consensus remains “Hold” with a $199.12 target price; ratings include 10 Buys, six Holds and two Sells.
• Illumina exceeded quarterly expectations with $1.31 EPS and $1.16 billion in revenue, while insiders sold more than 2 million shares worth approximately $436.5 million over the past three months.

Illumina, Inc. (NASDAQ:ILMN - Get Free Report) was up 5% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $267.30 and last traded at $268.1350. 364,698 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 83% from the average daily volume of 2,099,195 shares. The stock had previously closed at $255.38.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Argus increased their price objective on shares of Illumina from $180.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, September 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded Illumina to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Guggenheim increased their price target on Illumina from $200.00 to $226.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Illumina from $155.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Illumina from $192.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $199.12.

Illumina Stock Up 4.2%

The firm has a market capitalization of $40.19 billion, a PE ratio of 49.55, a PEG ratio of 3.51 and a beta of 1.46. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $208.09 and its 200 day simple moving average is $168.53. The company has a current ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53.

Illumina (NASDAQ:ILMN - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The life sciences company reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 prior year, the company earned $1.19 EPS. The business's revenue was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Illumina has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.300-5.400 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Illumina, Inc. will post 5.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Illumina

In other news, Director Keith Meister sold 457,858 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director owned 2,372,694 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $474,776,069.40. The trade was a 16.18% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In the last three months, insiders sold 2,061,850 shares of company stock valued at $436,479,102. 2.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Capital World Investors raised its stake in shares of Illumina by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 20,101,173 shares of the life sciences company's stock valued at $2,636,483,000 after acquiring an additional 124,323 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in Illumina in the 2nd quarter worth about $3,374,423,000. WCM Investment Management LLC raised its position in Illumina by 45.5% in the 1st quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 5,923,173 shares of the life sciences company's stock worth $715,579,000 after purchasing an additional 1,851,848 shares during the period. Primecap Management Co. CA bought a new stake in Illumina in the second quarter worth about $617,981,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Illumina by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,869,047 shares of the life sciences company's stock worth $375,260,000 after purchasing an additional 130,139 shares during the last quarter. 89.42% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.

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