Illumina (NASDAQ:ILMN) Rating Lowered to “Hold” at Wall Street Zen

Illumina (NASDAQ:ILMN) was downgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report issued on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

Several other research analysts have also issued reports on the company. Stephens lowered Illumina from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $275.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Friday, October 23rd. Argus lifted their price target on Illumina from $180.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 3rd. Citigroup lifted their price target on Illumina from $113.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, November 2nd. Weiss Ratings raised Illumina from a “hold (c)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Monday, November 2nd. Finally, Evercore reiterated an “underperform” rating on shares of Illumina in a report on Friday, October 30th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $244.24.

Illumina Stock Performance

NASDAQ:ILMN opened at $213.13 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.05, a current ratio of 2.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $249.15 and its 200 day simple moving average is $178.12. The stock has a market cap of $32.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.46. Illumina has a twelve month low of $112.65 and a twelve month high of $309.35.

Illumina (NASDAQ:ILMN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 29th. The life sciences company reported $1.62 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.36 by $0.26. Illumina had a net margin of 19.72% and a return on equity of 28.38%. The business had revenue of $1.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.15 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.34 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Illumina will post 5.43 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Illumina

In other news, Director Keith Meister sold 299,336 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $217.96, for a total value of $65,243,274.56. Following the transaction, the director owned 1,409,851 shares in the company, valued at approximately $307,291,123.96. This represents a 17.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders have sold 1,601,541 shares of company stock valued at $354,755,291 over the last three months. 2.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Illumina

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ILMN. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Illumina in the second quarter worth about $3,374,423,000. Primecap Management Co. CA purchased a new stake in shares of Illumina during the 2nd quarter worth about $617,981,000. Jupiter Topco LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Illumina during the 2nd quarter valued at about $358,652,000. WCM Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Illumina by 45.5% during the 1st quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 5,923,173 shares of the life sciences company’s stock valued at $715,579,000 after acquiring an additional 1,851,848 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Illumina during the 2nd quarter valued at about $293,846,000. 89.42% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Illumina

Illumina, Inc develops and supplies technologies used to analyze genetic variation and biological function. Its products include next-generation sequencing systems, microarrays, reagents and consumables, as well as software and related services that help customers generate and interpret genomic data.

The company’s technology is used in applications such as medical and population research, genetic testing, drug development, and agricultural and environmental studies. Its customers include academic and government research institutions, hospitals and clinical laboratories, biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies, and other organizations around the world.

Founded in 1998 and headquartered in San Diego, California, Illumina serves customers internationally.