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

Illumina, Inc. (NASDAQ:ILMN) 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 trading volume of 2,240,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.9 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ILMN has been the subject of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Illumina from $125.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Illumina from $124.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Citigroup cut shares of Illumina from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $190.00 to $165.00 in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Barclays downgraded Illumina from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $130.00 to $100.00 in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group cut their price objective on shares of Illumina from $145.00 to $135.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $159.45.

Illumina Stock Performance

Shares of ILMN stock opened at $100.24 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $132.74 and a 200-day simple moving average of $134.91. Illumina has a 12-month low of $99.35 and a 12-month high of $156.66. The company has a market cap of $15.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -13.05 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a current ratio of 2.43, a quick ratio of 1.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94.

Illumina (NASDAQ:ILMN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The life sciences company reported $0.86 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.92 by ($0.06). Illumina had a positive return on equity of 12.59% and a negative net margin of 27.95%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Illumina will post 4.42 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Illumina

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ILMN. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in shares of Illumina by 153.7% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 241 shares of the life sciences company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 146 shares in the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Illumina during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Assetmark Inc. grew its stake in Illumina by 954.8% in the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 327 shares of the life sciences company’s stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 296 shares during the period. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich purchased a new stake in Illumina in the 4th quarter worth approximately $45,000. Finally, Lee Danner & Bass Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Illumina during the 4th quarter worth $48,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.42% of the company’s stock.

Illumina Company Profile

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.