Short Interest in Illumina, Inc. (NASDAQ:ILMN) Expands By 9.0%

Illumina, Inc. (NASDAQ:ILMN - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest during the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 6,510,000 shares, an increase of 9.0% from the January 15th total of 5,970,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 2,240,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.9 days.

Illumina Trading Down 5.6 %

Shares of ILMN traded down $5.80 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $97.20. 5,942,184 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,542,647. The company's fifty day moving average price is $128.97 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $134.16. The company has a market capitalization of $15.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -12.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a quick ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 1.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. Illumina has a 12 month low of $95.23 and a 12 month high of $156.66.

Illumina (NASDAQ:ILMN - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The life sciences company reported $0.86 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.92 by ($0.06). Illumina had a negative net margin of 27.95% and a positive return on equity of 13.37%. Equities research analysts predict that Illumina will post 4.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its holdings in Illumina by 9.5% in the fourth quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 21,194 shares of the life sciences company's stock worth $2,832,000 after buying an additional 1,839 shares during the last quarter. North Star Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Illumina by 6.4% in the fourth quarter. North Star Asset Management Inc. now owns 85,604 shares of the life sciences company's stock worth $11,439,000 after buying an additional 5,160 shares during the last quarter. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. purchased a new position in Illumina in the fourth quarter worth about $445,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. raised its holdings in Illumina by 144.4% in the fourth quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 716 shares of the life sciences company's stock worth $96,000 after buying an additional 423 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GTS Securities LLC raised its holdings in Illumina by 7,215.2% in the fourth quarter. GTS Securities LLC now owns 2,348 shares of the life sciences company's stock worth $314,000 after buying an additional 2,381 shares during the last quarter. 89.42% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on ILMN shares. UBS Group raised their target price on Illumina from $133.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Barclays downgraded Illumina from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and cut their price target for the stock from $130.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Illumina from $150.00 to $136.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Illumina from $124.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Illumina from $125.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $159.45.

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.