Investors, Analysts Consider Roche's Bid for Illumina (ILMN) Too Low

With shares of Illumina (Nasdaq: ILMN) currently trading sharply over the $44.50 per share hostile bid from Roche (OTCBB: RHHBY) disclosed late Tuesday, investors are clearly betting for more M&A-related upside. The stock last crossed at $54.25, up about 44 percent for the session.

Analysts are also getting more bullish on Illumina shares Wednesday. In addition to upgrades from Baird, Cowen, Maxim and Macquarie, a number of firms see the M&A action continuing from here.

• Auriga - Called the Roche bid "likely only an opening offer."
  
  
• Credit Suisse - Believes Roche may eventually have to bid around $60 per share to lock in a sale. The firm noted an offer around $70 per share would be the highest level before dilution. Called the initial bid "very low."
  
  
• Wedbush - Sees the $44.50 per share bid as cheap.
  
  
• Barclays - While Illumina may be worth $60 to $65 per share, the firm notes interested buyers may be "more limited" than the market is anticipating. Barclays believes Roche is a unique bidder due to its already-standing presence in the gene-sequencing market.

Track all the market-moving analyst calls on shares of Illumina with our Analyst Ratings page.

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