Illumina (NASDAQ:ILMN) Cut to “Hold” at Zacks Research

Illumina (NASDAQ:ILMN) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on the company. TD Cowen upped their price target on Illumina from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their target price on shares of Illumina from $112.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Cowen reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Illumina in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Robert W. Baird set a $109.00 price objective on shares of Illumina in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Illumina in a research note on Monday. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $118.31.

Illumina Stock Up 2.4%

Illumina stock opened at $134.35 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 1.44. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $125.81 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $107.73. Illumina has a 1-year low of $68.70 and a 1-year high of $153.06. The company has a current ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42.

Illumina (NASDAQ:ILMN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The life sciences company reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.16 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $1.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.07 billion. Illumina had a net margin of 16.40% and a return on equity of 29.21%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.14 EPS. Illumina has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.650-4.750 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Illumina will post 4.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Scott M. Davies sold 323 shares of Illumina stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.09, for a total value of $43,957.07. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 17,887 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,434,241.83. This trade represents a 1.77% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Scott Gottlieb acquired 500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 3rd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $122.13 per share, for a total transaction of $61,065.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 12,523 shares in the company, valued at $1,529,433.99. This trade represents a 4.16% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 2.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Illumina

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ILMN. Keel Point LLC purchased a new position in Illumina in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $203,000. FNY Investment Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of Illumina in the third quarter worth $95,000. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd grew its position in shares of Illumina by 547.3% in the third quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd now owns 80,155 shares of the life sciences company’s stock valued at $7,612,000 after purchasing an additional 67,772 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Advocates LLC bought a new stake in shares of Illumina during the 3rd quarter valued at $44,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in Illumina by 17.5% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 832,690 shares of the life sciences company’s stock worth $79,081,000 after purchasing an additional 124,246 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.42% of the company’s stock.

About Illumina

Illumina, Inc (NASDAQ: ILMN) is a global life sciences company that develops, manufactures and markets integrated systems for the analysis of genetic variation and function. Headquartered in San Diego, California and founded in 1998, Illumina offers a range of sequencing and array-based technologies used by academic researchers, clinical laboratories, pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, consumer genomics firms and agricultural researchers to enable discovery, translational research and clinical applications.

The company’s product portfolio includes next-generation sequencing (NGS) platforms and associated consumables, microarrays for genotyping and methylation analysis, library preparation kits and targeted assays.