Stifel has reiterated its Buy recommendation on Illumina (NASDAQ:ILMN) and held its price target at $155.00 following the company’s pre-announcement of a robust fourth-quarter performance. The shares trade at $166.51 and have delivered an 80.18% price return over the last six months, according to InvestingPro data.
The firm said Illumina’s 2026 guidance is, at a high level, largely consistent with expectations. Organic growth is bracketed around Street estimates and the midpoint for earnings per share sits modestly above consensus. That said, Stifel cautioned that several of the assumptions underpinning the guidance will require additional scrutiny.
Illumina reported diluted earnings per share of $5.45 over the last twelve months. InvestingPro data also shows that three analysts have recently raised their earnings estimates for the company.
Stifel indicated it sees potential upside to Illumina’s full-year numbers, driven mainly by a shift in revenue mix toward clinical applications versus research. The firm expects this mix to support consumables growth firmly in the mid-single-digit range.
Investor attention, Stifel added, will soon turn to the Advances in Genome Biology and Technology (AGBT) conference, taking place in a few weeks. Market participants at that event will focus on Roche as a potential competitive threat and will evaluate Illumina’s new product pipeline. Stifel acknowledged that the period following AGBT could introduce some volatility for the stock, but noted that if shares move back toward $120 the risk-reward profile would look more balanced.
In related results, Illumina posted a strong fourth quarter for 2025, beating earnings expectations with an EPS of $1.35 versus a forecast of $1.22. Revenue also exceeded projections, coming in at $1.16 billion compared with the anticipated $1.1 billion. Stifel and other observers attributed the quarter’s outperformance to solid revenue outside of China and to consumables growth driven by customer adoption of the NovaSeq X platform.
Despite the favorable quarter, Canaccord Genuity retained its Hold rating on Illumina and kept a $150.00 price target. That firm described conditions around the company as stabilizing in light of the reported results.
Illumina had pre-announced its quarterly results in mid-January, and those pre-announced figures were in line with analyst estimates and the FactSet consensus. Market participants continue to monitor broader market headwinds that may affect the stock.
Key takeaways
- Stifel reaffirms Buy rating with a $155.00 target after Illumina’s better-than-expected Q4 performance.
- Company guidance for 2026 broadly matches Street benchmarks; EPS midpoint is slightly above consensus, but some guidance assumptions merit further review.
- Upcoming AGBT conference will be a focal point for discussions about competitive threats and new product potential, introducing short-term event risk.
Risks and uncertainties
- Post-AGBT market reaction - investor sentiment may shift following industry commentary at the conference, creating potential stock volatility.
- Guidance sensitivity - specific assumptions within Illumina’s 2026 forecast require additional analysis and could affect earnings clarity.
This report presents the current outlook as described by Stifel and the reported quarterly results. It does not add new facts beyond those provided in the company and analyst disclosures referenced above.