What Happened?
Shares of genomics company Illumina (NASDAQ: ILMN) jumped 3.7% in the pre-market session after analysts at Robert W. Baird increased their price target on the life sciences company's stock to $105.00. While the firm maintained its 'neutral' rating on the shares, the new price objective represented a significant increase from the previous target of $84.00. This analyst action followed Illumina's recent quarterly report, where the company posted earnings and revenue that narrowly beat Wall Street's consensus estimates. The life sciences company reported earnings per share of $0.97 and revenue of $1.04 billion. This performance, coupled with the revised price target, appeared to have bolstered investor confidence.
After the initial pop the shares cooled down to $110.49, up 1.1% from previous close.
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What Is The Market Telling Us
Illumina’s shares are quite volatile and have had 19 moves greater than 5% over the last year. In that context, today’s move indicates the market considers this news meaningful but not something that would fundamentally change its perception of the business.
The previous big move we wrote about was 19 days ago when the stock dropped 4.2% on the news that a Citi analyst downgraded the stock to 'Sell' from 'Neutral' and lowered the price target. The downgrade from a major Wall Street bank signals rising concerns about the genomic sequencing company's near-term prospects. An analyst downgrade can often pressure a stock as it may lead institutional investors to reconsider their positions.
Illumina is down 15.6% since the beginning of the year, and at $110.49 per share, it is trading 28.8% below its 52-week high of $155.15 from November 2024. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of Illumina’s shares 5 years ago would now be looking at an investment worth $286.68.
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