Illumina, Inc. (NASDAQ:ILMN) Short Interest Update

Illumina, Inc. (NASDAQ:ILMN - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large decline in short interest during the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 5,040,000 shares, a decline of 22.6% from the December 15th total of 6,510,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,000,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.5 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Illumina

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ILMN. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position in shares of Illumina by 153.7% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 241 shares of the life sciences company's stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 146 shares in the last quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of Illumina by 58.5% during the third quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 382 shares of the life sciences company's stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV lifted its stake in Illumina by 65.1% in the third quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 426 shares of the life sciences company's stock valued at $56,000 after buying an additional 168 shares during the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA increased its holdings in shares of Illumina by 81.2% in the 3rd quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 473 shares of the life sciences company's stock valued at $62,000 after acquiring an additional 212 shares during the period. Finally, Focused Wealth Management Inc purchased a new stake in Illumina in the 3rd quarter valued at $63,000. 89.42% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Illumina Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ ILMN traded up $1.18 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $137.37. 1,291,840 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,731,654. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -13.79 and a beta of 1.11. Illumina has a 52-week low of $100.08 and a 52-week high of $156.66. The company's 50-day moving average is $140.24 and its 200-day moving average is $133.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 1.85 and a current ratio of 2.43.

Illumina (NASDAQ:ILMN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The life sciences company reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.26. The business had revenue of $1.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.08 billion. Illumina had a positive return on equity of 7.29% and a negative net margin of 36.10%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.33 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Illumina will post 4.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on ILMN. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Illumina from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $180.00 price target on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Illumina from $125.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Leerink Partners lifted their price target on Illumina from $160.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. HSBC raised shares of Illumina from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $180.00 price objective for the company in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Citigroup downgraded Illumina from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $190.00 to $165.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Illumina has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $165.63.

About Illumina

Illumina, Inc offers sequencing- and array-based solutions for genetic and genomic analysis in the United States, Singapore, the United Kingdom, and internationally. It operates through Core Illumina and GRAIL segments. The company offers sequencing and array-based instruments and consumables, which include reagents, flow cells, and library preparation; whole-genome sequencing kits, which sequence entire genomes of various size and complexity; and targeted resequencing kits, which sequence exomes, specific genes, and RNA or other genomic regions of interest.