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ILMN
Illumina Inc. · Healthcare / Life Science Tools & Genomics
$161.93
+14.29% this month
VERSUS
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COMPARE
PACB
Pacific Biosciences of California Inc. · Healthcare / Life Science Tools & Genomics
$1.40
+21.74% this month
Scoreboard verdict
Across AI score, momentum, valuation, upside, operating margin
ILMN
2
PACB
2
Comparison scoreboard
MIXED SETUPAI Score
ILMN ✓40.1
PACB 24.9
1Y Return
ILMN ✓+79.40%
PACB +6.87%
Fwd P/E
ILMN 27.17
PACB ✓-3.53
Target Up.
ILMN -8.58%
PACB ✓+75.60%
Op. Margin
ILMN 18.33%
PACB N/A
Metrics last refreshed: 6/20/2026
Quick take
ILMN vs PACB Stock Comparison: AI Score, Valuation, Performance and Upside
ILMN and PACB are sequencing technology companies at very different scales and stages. Illumina is the 80%+ market share incumbent in short-read sequencing with massive recurring consumable revenues — fighting to maintain dominance against BGI competition and manage post-GRAIL recovery. PacBio is a long-read technology specialist with a genuinely differentiated approach for complex genomic applications — but pre-profitability, reliant on Revio adoption, and facing the scale challenge of competing against Illumina's massive installed base. Very different risk profiles.
ILMN vs PACB — Illumina (dominant short-read sequencing incumbent with 80%+ market share and $1B+ recurring consumable revenues, recovering from GRAIL distraction) versus PacBio (long-read sequencing technology specialist with HiFi accuracy differentiation and Revio commercialization, seeking profitability through clinical market penetration).
Live analysis · updated 6/20/2026
ILMN and PACB are closely matched — they split the tracked metrics evenly. ILMN has delivered stronger 1-year price return (+79.40% vs +6.87%), though PACB trades at the lower forward P/E (-3.53x vs 27.17x). Analyst consensus implies meaningfully more upside for PACB (+75.60%) than for ILMN (-8.58%).
Normalized 1Y performance
ILMN
PACB
Recent returns
ILMN
PACB
Analyst price targets & sentiment
ILMN · 23 analysts
STRONG BUYHOLDSTRONG SELL
Buy (2.3/5.0)
Price target range
analyst low$70.00
analyst high$185.00
analyst mean$147.17
current price$161.93
-8.6% upside to analyst mean
PACB · 6 analysts
Price target range
analyst low$1.50
analyst high$3.00
analyst mean$2.46
current price$1.40
+75.6% upside to analyst mean
Who should consider this stock?
ILMN may suit investors who:
- →want exposure to genomics market growth through the established market leader with 80%+ share, massive installed base, and high-margin consumable recurring revenues
- →believe the GRAIL distraction is behind Illumina and management is refocused on core sequencing business and NovaSeq X adoption cycle
- →are comfortable with a large-cap life science tools leader at premium valuation with Chinese competition and long-read displacement risk priced in
- →value Illumina's proven clinical market penetration in oncology, rare disease, and prenatal testing as durable revenue diversification beyond research
PACB may suit investors who:
- →believe long-read sequencing will expand to clinical mainstream adoption where short reads are technically insufficient — structural variant detection, complete genome assembly
- →are high-risk-tolerance investors comfortable with pre-profitability biotech/instruments companies burning cash to commercialize differentiated technology
- →see the Revio platform's dramatically lower long-read cost as the catalyst unlocking clinical market adoption at scale beyond the current research niche
- →want a 'picks and shovels' technology bet on the applications where PacBio's HiFi technology is the only viable solution — complex genomics applications with no Illumina substitute
Performance & AI score
| Metric | ILMN | PACB |
|---|---|---|
| AI score | 40.1 | 24.9 |
| AI rank | #1086 | #2946 |
| Latest close | $161.93 | $1.40 |
| 1M return | +14.29% | +21.74% |
| 6M return | +24.98% | -27.46% |
| 1Y return | +79.40% | +6.87% |
$10,000 invested — hypothetical growth (dividends reinvested)
How much would $10,000 be worth today if invested at the start of each period, with all dividends reinvested?
| Period | ILMN | PACB |
|---|---|---|
| 1Y ago | $17.94K (+79.4%) started 2025-06-18 | $10.69K (+6.9%) started 2025-06-18 |
| 5Y ago | $3.65K (-63.5%) started 2021-06-18 | $480.27 (-95.2%) started 2021-06-18 |
| 10Y ago | $11.88K (+18.8%) started 2016-06-20 | $1.57K (-84.3%) started 2016-06-20 |
Hypothetical — past performance does not guarantee future results.
Valuation & upside potential
| Metric | ILMN | PACB |
|---|---|---|
| Market cap | $24.35B | $434.84M |
| Trailing P/E | 29.21 | N/A |
| Forward P/E | 27.17 | -3.53 |
| Price/Sales | 3.02 | 2.72 |
| EV/Revenue | 5.86 | 5.31 |
| Analyst target | $147.17 | $2.46 |
| Target upside | -8.58% | +75.60% |
Growth, profitability & risk
| Metric | ILMN | PACB |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue growth | 4.80% | 0.10% |
| Earnings growth | 6.10% | N/A |
| EPS growth | +6.10% | N/A |
| FCF margin | +19.25% | -30.14% |
| Operating margin | 18.33% | N/A |
| Profit margin | 19.42% | -80.34% |
| ROIC proxy | 33.82% | -273.55% |
| Return on equity | 33.82% | -273.55% |
| Dividend yield | N/A | 0.00% |
| Beta | 1.49 | 2.32 |
| Debt/equity | 95.07 | 29855.79 |
| Current ratio | 1.75 | 5.65 |
| Quick ratio | 1.23 | 4.67 |
Drawdown & downside risk
Lower drawdown and smaller single-period drops generally indicate a smoother ride, though they do not guarantee lower future risk.
1Y risk snapshot
ILMN max drawdown25.66%
PACB max drawdown58.05%
ILMN max wkly drop17.33%
PACB max wkly drop27.43%
5Y risk snapshot
ILMN max drawdown86.23%
PACB max drawdown97.47%
ILMN max wkly drop30.76%
PACB max wkly drop61.22%
10Y risk snapshot
ILMN max drawdown86.23%
PACB max drawdown98.22%
ILMN max wkly drop30.76%
PACB max wkly drop61.22%
Performance metrics by period
| Period | Metric | ILMN | PACB |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1Y | Growth | +79.40% | +6.87% |
| CAGR | +79.48% | +6.88% | |
| Sharpe ratio | 1.37 | 0.45 | |
| Max drawdown | 25.66% | 58.05% | |
| Max daily drop | 10.40% | 14.55% | |
| Max wkly drop | 17.33% | 27.43% | |
| 5Y | Growth | -63.51% | -95.20% |
| CAGR | -18.26% | -45.52% | |
| Sharpe ratio | -0.32 | -0.22 | |
| Max drawdown | 86.23% | 97.47% | |
| Max daily drop | 14.63% | 50.70% | |
| Max wkly drop | 30.76% | 61.22% | |
| 10Y | Growth | +18.82% | -84.34% |
| CAGR | +1.74% | -16.93% | |
| Sharpe ratio | 0.15 | 0.15 | |
| Max drawdown | 86.23% | 98.22% | |
| Max daily drop | 24.81% | 50.70% | |
| Max wkly drop | 30.76% | 61.22% |
Business comparison
| Category | ILMN | PACB |
|---|---|---|
| Company | Illumina Inc. | Pacific Biosciences of California Inc. |
| Sector | Healthcare | Healthcare / Life Science Tools & Genomics |
| Industry | Diagnostics & Research | N/A |
| Core business | Illumina dominates the short-read DNA sequencing market with 80%+ global market share — the instruments, reagents, and consumables that power essentially all large-scale genomic sequencing globally. Illumina's technology (sequencing by synthesis) reads millions of short DNA fragments simultaneously — optimal for large-scale studies, clinical diagnostic sequencing, and oncology genomics. Illumina's challenge includes integrating and then divesting GRAIL (cancer early detection liquid biopsy company) after a costly regulatory battle, and defending against Chinese competitor BGI's MGI subsidiary gaining market share globally. | PacBio makes long-read DNA sequencing instruments (Revio, Sequel II) capable of reading DNA fragments 10-100x longer than Illumina's short reads. Long-read sequencing is superior for complete genome assembly, detecting structural variants (large DNA rearrangements), resolving complex genomic regions, and sequencing repetitive DNA elements. PacBio's HiFi long-read technology achieves high accuracy (99.9%+) while maintaining long read lengths — addressing the historical accuracy disadvantage of long-read vs short-read sequencing. PacBio targets clinical genome sequencing, structural variant detection for rare disease, and de novo genome assembly. |
| Investor focus | Investors focus on Illumina's instrument upgrade cycle (NovaSeq X adoption), consumable revenue per instrument (high-margin recurring revenue), clinical market expansion (oncology, rare disease), and potential long-read competition from PacBio and Oxford Nanopore. | Investors focus on PacBio's Revio system adoption (dramatically cheaper long-read sequencing), clinical market validation (rare disease diagnosis, oncology), and path to profitability amid high R&D spending. |
ILMN strengths
- →80%+ global sequencing market share: Illumina's installed base of instruments creates an enormous consumable recurring revenue flywheel — reagent kits representing 70%+ of revenue
- →Lowest cost per genome for large studies: Illumina's short-read technology produces the cheapest data for population-scale genomics — research, drug development, and clinical sequencing at scale
- →Clinical sequencing adoption growth: oncology genomics, prenatal testing, rare disease diagnosis — Illumina's technology is enabling precision medicine at population scale
PACB strengths
- →Only commercial long-read platform with high accuracy (HiFi): PacBio's Continuous Long Read (CLR) technology with circular consensus sequencing achieves short-read-like accuracy with long-read length — a technical differentiation Illumina cannot match
- →Revio launched at dramatically lower long-read cost: the Revio instrument makes long-read sequencing affordable enough for clinical adoption — expanding the addressable market for PacBio's technology
- →Superior for structural variant detection and complex genomes: applications where short reads fail completely — PacBio owns these use cases as the only viable technology
Risks to watch — ILMN
- →GRAIL acquisition saga cost billions and destroyed focus: Illumina spent $8B acquiring GRAIL against FTC/EC objections, lost the regulatory fight, and was forced to divest — a costly strategic distraction destroying shareholder value
- →Long-read competition emerging: PacBio's HiFi long-read technology addresses applications where short reads fail — structural variants, complex genomic regions, genome assembly — and is gaining clinical traction
- →Chinese competition from BGI/MGI: BGI's MGI subsidiary offers lower-cost sequencing instruments competing for market share in price-sensitive international markets
Risks to watch — PACB
- →Not profitable: PacBio continues burning cash despite commercialization — achieving profitability requires significant Revio adoption acceleration
- →Small market share: PacBio instruments represent a tiny fraction of Illumina's installed base — limited recurring consumable revenue makes the business difficult to fund at current scale
- →Oxford Nanopore competition: ONT provides another long-read alternative (nanopore sequencing) competing for the same long-read use cases — PacBio faces competition in its differentiated niche
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