sutthirat sutthisumdang Citi has upgraded Illumina ( NASDAQ: ILMN ), Quest Diagnostics ( NYSE: DGX ) and Agilent ( NYSE: A ) to buy, while lowering Avantor ( NYSE: AVTR ) to neutral. In a note released Wednesday, Citi said it was upgrading Illumina in the wake of its GRAIL divestiture as it saw potential core margin upside moving into 2025 at a “reasonable” valuation. Citi noted that Illumina’s multiple trails many of its peers, including Waters ( WAT ), making for an “opportunistic entry point.
” It set its price target for the stock at $140. The bank upgraded Quest for several reasons, including potential upside to fiscal 2024 numbers, improved pricing power and cost-saving measures. It added that the “multiple premium against its closest competitor within our coverage, LabCorp ( LH ), is warranted due to the lack of Early Development headwinds and greater opportunities for market expansion.
” Citi raised it price target for Quest to $165 from $145. Agilent was upgraded to buy due in part to an “improved landscape” for its Nucleic Acids Solutions Division, particularly in FY25/26. Citi added that it believed “Agilent is now one of the only companies within the Tools space where the FY24 guidance has been de-risked vs.
other core players, including Bio-Rad ( BIO ) and WAT, where another potential cut on this earnings call looms.” It raised its price target to $150 from $135. Meanwhile, the bank downgraded Avantor ( AVTR ) to neutral “given the softer bi.
