By Dhirendra Tripathi
Investing.com – Shares of gene-sequencing company Illumina (NASDAQ:ILMN) were up 11% in Tuesday’s premarket after the company indicated its revenue had topped $1 billion revenues in the quarter through March.
The revenue forecast for the quarter is 26% higher than last year's. For fiscal year 2021, Illumina now expects year-over-year revenue growth in the range of 25%-28% compared to fiscal year 2020.
Illumina credited record orders in the gene-sequencing and related businesses for its optimistic outlook.
Illumina president and chief executive officer Francis deSouza said its sequencing technology is helping attract demand for Covid-19-related surveillance globally.
Canaccord Genuity analyst Max Masucci on Monday maintained a ‘buy’ rating on the Nasdaq-listed company, setting a price target of $460, almost 20% higher than its closing level on Monday.
Masucci expects Illumina to post earnings per share of $1.76 for the second quarter of 2021.
The current consensus among 9 TipRanks analysts is for a ‘moderate buy’ rating of shares in Illumina, with an average price target of $441.56.The analysts’ price targets range between $285 and $570.