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ILMN
Illumina, Inc. · Healthcare - Genomic Sequencing
$161.93
+14.29% this month
VERSUS
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COMPARE
PACB
Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc. · Healthcare - Long-Read Genomic Sequencing
$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 27.33
PACB ✓-3.53
Target Up.
ILMN -8.26%
PACB ✓+75.60%
Op. Margin
ILMN 18.33%
PACB N/A
Metrics last refreshed: 6/22/2026
Quick take
ILMN vs PACB Stock Comparison: AI Score, Valuation, Performance and Upside
ILMN (Illumina) and PACB (PacBio) are both DNA sequencing companies but with different technologies — Illumina's dominant short-read sequencing platform handles 80%+ of global sequencing volume, while PacBio's HiFi long-read technology addresses applications requiring complete genomic assembly that short-read sequencing cannot achieve. They are partially complementary rather than purely competing technologies.
ILMN vs PACB is dominant short-read sequencing monopoly (Illumina) versus emerging long-read sequencing platform (PacBio) — both serve DNA sequencing but at different scale, profitability stage, and application scope with technologies that often complement rather than directly compete.
Live analysis · updated 6/22/2026
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 27.33x). Analyst consensus implies meaningfully more upside for PACB (+75.60%) than for ILMN (-8.26%).
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$148.56
current price$161.93
-8.3% 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 the near-monopoly in global DNA sequencing infrastructure with dominant consumable reagent pull-through revenue from the installed base of Illumina instruments in labs worldwide
- →Value Illumina's decades-long record of reducing sequencing cost per genome, driving volume adoption in clinical applications, population genomics, and research
- →See clinical genomics (cancer, reproductive health) adoption as the next major growth driver for Illumina's platform beyond research and agricultural genomics
PACB may suit investors who:
- →Want long-read sequencing exposure as PacBio's HiFi technology addresses complex genomic applications (structural variants, complete assembly, methylation) growing in research and clinical importance
- →Value PacBio's Revio platform as a significant capacity expansion enabling large-scale population genomics projects that previously required Illumina for economic reasons
- →Accept pre-profitability investment phase risk in exchange for potential upside if long-read sequencing expands its addressable market alongside short-read applications
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 | $24.5B | $434.84M |
| Trailing P/E | 29.39 | N/A |
| Forward P/E | 27.33 | -3.53 |
| Price/Sales | 3.02 | 2.72 |
| EV/Revenue | 5.89 | 5.41 |
| Analyst target | $148.56 | $2.46 |
| Target upside | -8.26% | +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 - Long-Read Genomic Sequencing |
| Industry | Diagnostics & Research | N/A |
| Core business | Illumina is the dominant provider of DNA sequencing systems and reagents for genomics research, clinical applications (cancer genomics, reproductive health), and population genomics — with approximately 80%+ of global genomic sequencing performed on Illumina instruments. | PacBio develops HiFi long-read DNA sequencing technology capable of reading very long DNA sequences (10,000-25,000 base pairs) with high accuracy — enabling complete genomic assembly, structural variant detection, and methylation analysis that short-read Illumina sequencing cannot achieve. |
| Investor focus | Investors track Illumina's instrument placements, consumable pull-through revenue per instrument (the recurring high-margin reagent revenue), clinical genomics adoption, and the post-Grail acquisition divestiture and management transition. | Investors track PacBio's instrument placements, Revio system adoption (the latest high-throughput long-read platform), consumable revenue growth, and the company's path to profitability as revenue grows to cover its significant R&D and operating cost base. |
ILMN strengths
- →Near-monopoly in short-read sequencing — Illumina's sequencing-by-synthesis chemistry and NovaSeq instrument platform are the global standard for high-throughput genomics research and clinical applications
- →Consumable reagent pull-through model creates significant recurring revenue — each Illumina instrument generates ongoing reagent purchases for years or decades
- →Scale advantages in sequencing chemistry R&D and manufacturing have allowed Illumina to consistently reduce sequencing cost per genome over 20+ years
PACB strengths
- →Long-read sequencing accuracy advantage — HiFi reads provide complete, accurate single-molecule sequences that can detect structural variants, complex genomic regions, and epigenetic modifications inaccessible to short-read platforms
- →Complementary to Illumina — most large-scale sequencing projects use both short-read (Illumina) for depth and long-read (PacBio) for complex assembly, reducing the zero-sum competition between them
- →Revio high-throughput system dramatically increased PacBio's throughput capacity — enabling larger population genomics and clinical research projects on long-read platforms
Risks to watch — ILMN
- →Illumina acquired Grail (liquid biopsy cancer detection) in 2021, then was forced to divest it by EU regulators in 2023 — the Grail saga cost Illumina billions in write-offs and management distraction
- →Long-read sequencing from PacBio and Oxford Nanopore Technologies is growing in applications where complete genomic assembly is needed, potentially reducing Illumina short-read market over time
- →Competition from MGI (Chinese genomics company, a subsidiary of BGI) has introduced lower-priced sequencing instruments, particularly outside the U.S., pressuring Illumina's international pricing
Risks to watch — PACB
- →PacBio is not yet profitable — the company burns cash as it invests in instrument development and go-to-market; profitability requires continued instrument placements and consumable pull-through growth
- →Oxford Nanopore Technologies (ONT) is a competing long-read sequencing company with a different technology (nanopore-based rather than SMRT chemistry) that competes with PacBio for long-read applications
- →The Illumina merger attempt was blocked by regulators — Illumina's 2021 proposed acquisition of PacBio's then-parent was not completed due to antitrust concerns
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