NEW YORK – Investment banking firm Evercore ISI has downgraded shares of Illumina to an In Line rating, with a price target of $340.
"We are downgrading Illumina to In Line as we see risks and upside surprises as being fairly balanced at current levels," analyst Vijay Kumar wrote in a research note.
"While we are huge fans of Illumina as a fundamental, secular growth company longer term, current valuation causes us to move to the sidelines," he added.
Previously, Evercore had rated the shares at Outperform with a price target of $330.
Kumar said Illumina "had a challenging 2019, with a few curveballs being thrown at the company," including declines in its microarray and direct-to-consumer business, headwinds in China, and delays in population genomics projects. Growth "never materialized," leading to a year of "misses and lowered guidance," Kumar wrote. "As we look towards 2020, we think the company is likely to start the year with a conservative outlook."
In morning trading on the Nasdaq, shares of Illumina were down 1 percent at $328.14.