Illumina (ILMN) shares rose today in anticipation of the company’s Q3 earnings report, scheduled for November 4, 2024. Analysts are expecting earnings per share to come in at $0.88 on revenue of $1.08 billion. This equates to a 144% year-over-year increase and a 2.7% decrease, respectively, according to TipRanks’ data.
Illumina Surges despite Mixed Forecast
These mixed estimates may make some investors nervous, as they indicate a decline in quarterly sales for the biotech company. However, Illumina has enjoyed a year of moderate performance, with shares rising 24% over the past two quarters. If revenue and earnings-per-share can come close to analysts’ forecasts or even exceed them, ILMN stock will be well-positioned to close out the year on a positive note.
Additionally, Tipranks data shows that Illumnia has missed earnings estimates only once over the past eight quarters, although forecasts are high for Q3.
Bulls and Bears Express Takes on Illumina
According to TipRanks’ Bulls Say, Bears Say tool, Illumina is benefitting from cost efficiency and product innovation. One case praises its new benchtop sequencing systems, crediting them with creating “enhanced simplicity, streamlined workflows, and improved turnaround times/data generation.”
Bears, by contrast, have raised concerns regarding revenue growth and pressure from other biotech firms, which could negatively impact the upside potential for ILMN stock. However, bullish sentiments outnumber the bearish ones, as we will see later on in this article.
What Do Options Traders Expect from ILMN?
Using TipRanks’ Options tool, we can see what options traders are expecting from the stock immediately after its earnings report. The expected earnings move is determined by calculating the at-the-money straddle of the options closest to expiration after the earnings announcement. If this sounds complicated, don’t worry, the Options tool does this for you.
Currently, it indicates that options traders are expecting a 9.28% move in either direction.
Is Illumina Stock a Strong Buy Before Earnings?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts remain mostly bullish with a Moderate Buy consensus rating on ILMN stock based on 10 Buys, five Holds, and one Sell assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 37% rally in its share price over the past year, the average ILMN price target of $157.38 per share implies 5.1% upside potential.
