Scotiabank Downgrades Illumina's Rating to Sector Perform with $125 Price Target

Scotiabank has downgraded Illumina's (ILMN) rating to Sector Perform from Outperform, with a $125 price target. Analysts predict an average target price of $108.92, a 8.87% upside from the current price. Illumina's Q1 revenue and EPS met expectations, with strong demand for NovaSeq X instruments and a robust innovation pipeline.

Scotiabank has downgraded Illumina's (ILMN) rating to Sector Perform from Outperform, with a price target of $125. This move comes amidst a series of significant upgrades and downgrades from leading analysts this week. The downgrade reflects Scotiabank's wait for more clarity around company-specific macro factors before recommending the shares again [1].

Illumina's Q1 revenue and EPS met expectations, with strong demand for NovaSeq X instruments and a robust innovation pipeline. The company delivered Q1 revenue and EPS at the upper end of their guidance range, showcasing strong execution despite macroeconomic challenges. The NovaSeq X instruments continue to perform well, with over 60 placements in Q1, indicating strong demand and resilience in the clinical markets [2].

However, Illumina faces export restrictions in China, leading to a revised guidance with lower expected revenue from the region in 2025. Uncertainty in U.S. research funding is affecting purchasing timelines, particularly impacting the research and academia sectors. The company is also dealing with increased costs due to new U.S. import tariffs, which are expected to impact earnings in 2025. Sequencing service and other revenue decreased by approximately 5% year over year, mainly due to the timing of certain strategic partnership revenues [2].

Based on the one-year price targets offered by 21 analysts, the average target price for Illumina Inc (ILMN) is $109.16, with a high estimate of $185.00 and a low estimate of $70.00. The average target implies an upside of 9.96% from the current price of $99.27. More detailed estimate data can be found on the Illumina Inc (ILMN) Forecast page [2].

The consensus recommendation from 24 brokerage firms is currently 2.4, indicating "Outperform" status. The rating scale ranges from 1 to 5, where 1 signifies Strong Buy, and 5 denotes Sell. Based on GuruFocus estimates, the estimated GF Value for Illumina Inc (ILMN) in one year is $137.20, suggesting an upside of 38.21% from the current price of $99.27 [2].

These upgrades and downgrades reflect the evolving market sentiment and analyst expectations for these companies. Investors should carefully consider these ratings and targets when making investment decisions.

References:
[1] https://www.investing.com/news/stock-market-news/td-cowen-upgrades-texas-instruments-as-industrial-downturn-nears-end-4132220
[2] https://www.gurufocus.com/news/2965753/illumina-ilmn-faces-downgrade-amid-future-risks--ilmn-stock-news