At Illumina, new leadership could fuel turnaround, analysts say

Illumina Inc. shares
ILMN,
+2.58%
may be poised for a turnaround as the company hunts for a new CEO, Evercore ISI analysts wrote in a research note Friday. The analysts added the stock to their tactical outperform list, noting that “new CEOs can be powerful catalysts” and that a CEO hire in the coming weeks or months would give the new leadership a chance to be part of the fiscal year 2024 planning process. Illumina’s board is “actively searching for our new CEO,” interim CEO Charles Dadswell said on the company’s quarterly earnings call Aug. 9, adding “they’ve been really encouraged by the outstanding quality of the candidates they’re seeing.” Illumina’s proxy fight earlier this year with activist investor Carl Icahn resulted in leadership upheaval at the biotech company, and CEO Francis deSouza stepped down in June. The Evercore analysts have a $240 price target on the shares. Illumina stock gained 1.7% premarket on Friday and has dropped 18.3% in the year to date, while the S&P 500
SPX,
+0.43%
gained 17.4%.