Illumina (NASDAQ:ILMN) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at Zacks Research

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

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Sanford C. Bernstein restated a “market perform” rating and set a $215.00 target price on shares of Illumina in a research note on Friday. Wall Street Zen raised Illumina from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on Illumina from $170.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Illumina from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their target price on shares of Illumina from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Illumina currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $188.40.

Illumina Trading Up 2.4%

ILMN opened at $203.01 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.87, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a quick ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 1.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. Illumina has a twelve month low of $88.00 and a twelve month high of $207.00. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $178.93 and a 200 day simple moving average of $148.02.

Illumina (NASDAQ:ILMN) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The life sciences company reported $1.31 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 company had revenue of $1.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.13 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.19 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Illumina has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.300-5.400 EPS. Analysts predict that Illumina will post 5.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Keith A. Meister sold 235,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.63, for a total transaction of $38,453,050.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 2,830,452 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $463,146,860.76. This trade represents a 7.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Patricia Leckman sold 783 shares of Illumina stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.59, for a total value of $127,307.97. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 21,259 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,456,500.81. The trade was a 3.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 1,003,684 shares of company stock valued at $155,736,580. 2.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Elyxium Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Illumina in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Creative Capital Management Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of Illumina by 160.0% in the fourth quarter. Creative Capital Management Investments LLC now owns 195 shares of the life sciences company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 120 shares during the period. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. purchased a new stake in Illumina during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Illumina during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Finally, Elevation Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Illumina by 52.5% during the 2nd quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 244 shares of the life sciences company’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. 89.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

More Illumina News

Here are the key news stories impacting Illumina this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Clinical sequencing and NovaSeq X demand support growth. Illumina’s second-quarter revenue rose 9.4% year over year to approximately $1.16 billion, beating the $1.13 billion consensus estimate. Management cited clinical momentum and NovaSeq X placements when raising its 2026 revenue forecast to $4.60 billion-$4.64 billion. Illumina Q2 2026 Earnings Call Transcript
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts raised their targets. Piper Sandler reaffirmed its “overweight” rating and increased its price target to $225 from $200. Other recent target increases included $210 and $230, suggesting some analysts expect further upside as sequencing demand improves. Piper Sandler rating update Illumina price target raised to $210 Illumina price target raised to $230
• Neutral Sentiment: Strong momentum has pushed the stock near a 52-week high. The rally reflects improving revenue expectations and earnings execution, but the elevated share price could make ILMN more sensitive to any weakness in guidance, instrument placements or clinical adoption. Illumina hits a fresh high
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation concerns may limit additional gains. With the shares trading at elevated earnings and growth multiples, some analysis suggests Illumina may be overvalued despite improving fundamentals. Investors may demand continued strong execution to justify the current valuation. Cash-producing stocks analysis
• Negative Sentiment: An executive sold a modest amount of stock. Chief Legal Officer Scott M. Davies sold 615 shares for approximately $123,000, reducing his holdings by 2.94%. Because the transaction occurred under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan and he retained 20,338 shares, the signal is limited but slightly negative for sentiment. Illumina insider sale

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.