Illumina (NASDAQ:ILMN) Shares Gap Down Following Analyst Downgrade

Illumina, Inc. (NASDAQ:ILMN) gapped down prior to trading on Friday after JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on the stock from $130.00 to $120.00. The stock had previously closed at $133.61, but opened at $125.99. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Illumina shares last traded at $120.4710, with a volume of 379,343 shares traded.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the company. Robert W. Baird set a $137.00 price objective on Illumina in a research note on Friday. Barclays upped their price target on Illumina from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price objective on Illumina from $130.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 26th. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $135.00 target price on shares of Illumina in a report on Friday. Finally, Guggenheim lifted their price target on Illumina from $144.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $130.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Illumina news, insider Scott M. Davies sold 323 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.09, for a total transaction of $43,957.07. Following 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 2.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Key Headlines Impacting Illumina

Here are the key news stories impacting Illumina this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 beat on EPS and revenue — Illumina reported GAAP/non‑GAAP EPS of $1.35 (beat) and revenue of $1.16B (beat), with ex‑China growth stronger; management highlighted improving margins. Illumina Reports Financial Results for Fourth Quarter and Fiscal Year 2025
• Positive Sentiment: FY‑2026 guidance mostly in line or better than Street — Illumina guided revenue to $4.5–$4.6B (above some estimates) and non‑GAAP EPS to $5.05–$5.20, signaling modest growth after recent year flatness. The guidance incorporates the SomaLogic acquisition and expected dilution. Illumina Reports Financial Results for Fourth Quarter and Fiscal Year 2025
• Positive Sentiment: Underlying business trends cited as constructive — analysis points to clinical consumables growth, expansion into multiomics, and margin momentum that could support higher recurring revenue over time. ILMN Q4 Deep Dive: Clinical Consumables Growth, Multiomics Expansion, and Margin Momentum
• Neutral Sentiment: Call/transcript color: management reiterated strategy and provided details on growth drivers and the SomaLogic deal; read the call for guidance assumptions and segment commentary. Illumina Q4 2025 earnings call transcript Seeking Alpha transcript
• Negative Sentiment: Investors disappointed by FY‑2025 flat revenue and cautious tone — FY‑2025 revenue was essentially flat versus prior year, and some investors focused on slower organic growth and the near‑term dilution/costs from the SomaLogic acquisition, prompting selling pressure despite the EPS beat and guidance. Illumina shares tumble as flat revenue disappoints investors
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst/read‑through risk: even with some bullish commentary, markets may be repricing expectations for near‑term top‑line acceleration given mixed signals between margin upside and tepid full‑year growth. Analysts Are Bullish on Top Healthcare Stocks: Illumina (ILMN)

Institutional Trading of Illumina

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Capital World Investors boosted its holdings in shares of Illumina by 20.0% in the 3rd quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 19,976,850 shares of the life sciences company’s stock valued at $1,897,178,000 after acquiring an additional 3,331,542 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Illumina by 6.8% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,999,790 shares of the life sciences company’s stock worth $569,800,000 after buying an additional 382,520 shares during the period. WCM Investment Management LLC raised its position in Illumina by 5.9% during the second quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 4,426,471 shares of the life sciences company’s stock worth $419,585,000 after acquiring an additional 247,460 shares during the period. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P raised its position in shares of Illumina by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 4,225,529 shares of the life sciences company’s stock worth $403,158,000 after purchasing an additional 78,317 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Illumina by 3.1% during the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,398,027 shares of the life sciences company’s stock valued at $315,915,000 after acquiring an additional 102,147 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.42% of the company’s stock.

Illumina Trading Down 10.4%

The stock has a market capitalization of $18.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.97, a P/E/G ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a 50 day moving average of $138.43 and a 200 day moving average of $116.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a current ratio of 1.43.

Illumina (NASDAQ:ILMN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The life sciences company reported $1.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.26 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $1.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.10 billion. Illumina had a net margin of 19.57% and a return on equity of 32.33%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.95 earnings per share. Illumina has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.050-5.200 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Illumina, Inc. will post 4.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.