Illumina Stock Shines Over The Past Quarter, Argus Raises Price Target

Argus has boosted its price target on

shares by $10 to $185 following the second quarter results that exceeded the Street estimate. The brokerage retained its rating of Buy. Analyst Jacob Kilstein, commenting on the earnings, pointed out the stock witnessed 20 percent growth over the last quarter, outperforming the broader S&P 500 index which rose 6 percent. Illumina reported its results on July 26 revealing lower-than-projected operating costs. Adjusted EPS rose 6 percent to $0.86, which was $0.13 more than the Consensus estimate of $0.73. Aside from that, the company reaffirmed its 12 percent revenue upside potential in the current year and boosted its adjusted EPS projection from $3.35 - $3.45 to $4.38 - $3.58 for the current year. Kilstein expects the company to deliver double-digit growth in the upcoming quarters while looking for a modest growth in adjusted operating margins. The analyst said, "We expect the new CEO, Francis deSouza, to address the slowdown in EPS through new products and acquisitions, and look for mid- to high-teens earnings growth going forward." Additionally, the Argus analyst sees the company's EPS gaining from share repurchase program. As a result, the analyst lifted his adjusted EPS projection from $3.40 to $3.52 in the current year and from $4.05 to $4.15 in the next year.