Illumina (ILMN) versus Its Peers Critical Comparison

Illumina (NASDAQ:ILMN) is one of 109 publicly-traded companies in the “Life Sciences Tools & Services” industry, but how does it compare to its peers? We will compare Illumina to related companies based on the strength of its dividends, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, earnings, profitability, valuation and risk.

Profitability

This table compares Illumina and its peers’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Illumina	19.72%	28.38%	12.11%
Illumina Competitors	-538.51%	-166.21%	-13.47%

Insider & Institutional Ownership

89.4% of Illumina shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 54.3% of shares of all “Life Sciences Tools & Services” companies are held by institutional investors. 2.9% of Illumina shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 15.2% of shares of all “Life Sciences Tools & Services” companies are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Volatility and Risk

Illumina has a beta of 1.46, suggesting that its share price is 46% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Illumina’s peers have a beta of 0.94, suggesting that their average share price is 6% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current recommendations for Illumina and its peers, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Illumina	3	6	10	0	2.37
Illumina Competitors	956	3183	5516	178	2.50

Illumina presently has a consensus target price of $244.24, suggesting a potential upside of 13.65%. As a group, “Life Sciences Tools & Services” companies have a potential downside of 2.68%. Given Illumina’s higher probable upside, research analysts clearly believe Illumina is more favorable than its peers.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Illumina and its peers revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Net Income	Price/Earnings Ratio
Illumina	$4.34 billion	$850.00 million	36.99
Illumina Competitors	$2.26 billion	$55.88 billion	-7.51

Illumina has higher revenue, but lower earnings than its peers. Illumina is trading at a higher price-to-earnings ratio than its peers, indicating that it is currently more expensive than other companies in its industry.

Summary

Illumina beats its peers on 8 of the 13 factors compared.

About Illumina

Illumina, Inc. develops and supplies technologies used to analyze genetic variation and biological function. Its products include next-generation sequencing systems, microarrays, reagents and consumables, as well as software and related services that help customers generate and interpret genomic data. The company’s technology is used in applications such as medical and population research, genetic testing, drug development, and agricultural and environmental studies. Its customers include academic and government research institutions, hospitals and clinical laboratories, biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies, and other organizations around the world.