Illumina (NASDAQ:ILMN) Stock Rating Upgraded by Zacks Research

Illumina (NASDAQ:ILMN) was upgraded by equities researchers at 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.

A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on ILMN. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Illumina from $95.00 to $113.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Monday. Barclays upped their price objective on Illumina from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday. Guggenheim increased their target price on Illumina from $200.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Leerink Partners lifted their target price on Illumina from $175.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $225.00 price target (up from $200.00) on shares of Illumina in a research report on Monday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Illumina has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $188.40.

Illumina Trading Up 2.4%

Shares of ILMN stock opened at $203.01 on Monday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $178.93 and its 200-day simple moving average is $148.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 1.80 and a quick ratio of 1.40. Illumina has a 1-year low of $88.00 and a 1-year high of $207.00. The firm has a market cap of $30.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.87, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.45.

Illumina (NASDAQ:ILMN) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The life sciences company reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.13 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.19 earnings per share. Illumina’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. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Illumina will post 5.36 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Illumina

In other news, CAO Scott D. Ericksen sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.10, for a total value of $225,150.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 14,946 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,243,394.60. This trade represents a 9.12% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Scott M. Davies sold 615 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total value of $123,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 20,338 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,067,600. This represents a 2.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders sold 1,003,684 shares of company stock valued at $155,736,580. 2.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Illumina

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ILMN. Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in shares of Illumina by 113.7% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 9,284 shares of the life sciences company’s stock valued at $737,000 after purchasing an additional 4,940 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Illumina during the second quarter worth $621,000. CW Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Illumina in the second quarter valued at $275,000. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its stake in shares of Illumina by 49.0% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 59,645 shares of the life sciences company’s stock valued at $5,691,000 after purchasing an additional 19,618 shares during the period. Finally, Cresset Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Illumina by 30.9% during the 2nd quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC now owns 7,404 shares of the life sciences company’s stock valued at $706,000 after purchasing an additional 1,748 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.42% of the company’s stock.

Key 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

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.