Illumina (NASDAQ:ILMN) Rating Increased to Buy at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Illumina (NASDAQ:ILMN) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note released on Saturday.

Several other brokerages have also commented on ILMN. Leerink Partners upped their price target on Illumina from $175.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Illumina from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on Illumina from $170.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Guggenheim increased their target price on shares of Illumina from $200.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Illumina from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Illumina has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $175.47.

Illumina Stock Up 0.0%

Shares of NASDAQ ILMN opened at $205.10 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $31.03 billion, a PE ratio of 38.26, a P/E/G ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 1.47. The company has a quick ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $176.70 and a 200-day moving average of $147.24. Illumina has a 52-week low of $88.00 and a 52-week high of $205.93.

Illumina (NASDAQ:ILMN) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The life sciences company reported $1.31 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.23 by $0.08. Illumina had a return on equity of 30.54% and a net margin of 18.36%.The business had revenue of $1.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.13 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.19 EPS. The business’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. On average, analysts anticipate that Illumina will post 5.37 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Patricia Leckman sold 783 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.59, for a total transaction of $127,307.97. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 21,259 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,456,500.81. This trade represents a 3.55% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CAO Scott D. Ericksen sold 1,500 shares of Illumina stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.10, for a total transaction of $225,150.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 14,946 shares in the company, valued at $2,243,394.60. This trade represents a 9.12% decrease in their position. 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 ninety days, insiders sold 1,003,769 shares of company stock valued at $155,710,908. Corporate insiders own 2.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Illumina

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ILMN. Elyxium Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Illumina in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Creative Capital Management Investments LLC boosted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. acquired a new stake in Illumina during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Illumina during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Finally, Activest Wealth Management increased its holdings in Illumina by 671.9% during the 4th quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 247 shares of the life sciences company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 215 shares during the last quarter. 89.42% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Illumina News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Illumina this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q2 results exceeded expectations: Illumina reported $1.16 billion in revenue, up approximately 9.4%–9.5% year over year, while non-GAAP diluted EPS of $1.31 topped the $1.23 consensus estimate. Clinical demand and NovaSeq X placements were key growth drivers. Illumina Q2 financial results
• Positive Sentiment: Full-year guidance was raised: Management increased fiscal 2026 non-GAAP EPS guidance to $5.30–$5.40 and revenue guidance to approximately $4.60–$4.64 billion, modestly ahead of analyst expectations. Illumina outlook
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts raised price targets: JPMorgan lifted its target to $230 and maintained an “overweight” rating; Stifel raised its target to $225 and assigned a “buy” rating. TD Cowen increased its target to $210 but retained a “hold” rating. These revisions signal greater confidence in Illumina’s earnings outlook, although targets vary considerably.
• Positive Sentiment: AI and drug-discovery opportunities remain a catalyst: CEO Jacob Thaysen highlighted genomic medicine and artificial intelligence applications in life sciences. Eli Lilly also joined Illumina’s Billion Cell Atlas alliance, which aims to create large-scale genomic datasets for identifying disease mechanisms and drug targets. Eli Lilly joins Billion Cell Atlas
• Neutral Sentiment: Investors are taking profits near record levels: With ILMN trading close to its one-year high, the strong results may have prompted a “sell-the-news” response as investors sought evidence of further upside beyond the guidance increase.
• Negative Sentiment: China and margins remain concerns: Greater China revenue declined 12%, while full-year non-GAAP operating-margin guidance remained unchanged at 23.4%–23.6%. Management also expects NovaSeq X instrument-placement growth to moderate year over year in the second half. Illumina China and margin analysis
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling may add pressure: Reported insider activity over the past six months included 41 sales and one purchase, though such transactions may reflect scheduled or personal portfolio activity rather than a direct view of fundamentals.

Illumina Company Profile

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.