UPDATE: Piper Jaffray Upgrades Illumina to Overweight on Positive Sequencing Update

Piper Jaffray raised its rating on Illumina ILMN from Neutral to Overweight and raised its price target from $47 to $61. Piper Jaffray commented, "Our recent sequencing database update suggest ongoing Illumina next-gen sequencing share gains, with HiSeq installed base increasing 13.2% and MiSeq growing 101.4% (off a small base) compared to our previous update (June 2012), suggesting potential upside to our 4Q12 sequencing instrument estimates. Separately, recent media reports suggest ongoing acquisition discussions between Roche and Illumina. We cannot confirm or refute ongoing discussions between the two companies, but we do believe speculation of a pending deal puts a floor on ILMN share price." Illumina closed at $55.55 on Thursday.