Illumina's Shares Popped: What You Need to Know

Althoughwedon'tbelieveintimingthemarketorpanickingovermarketmovements,wedoliketokeepaneyeonbigchanges--justincasethey'rematerialtoourinvestingthesis.

What: Shares of genetic testing and analysis expert Illumina (NAS: ILMN) evolved to a higher state today, jumping as much as 13.4% on more than double their average trading volume.

So what: The third-quarter results posted this morning missed revised, lower earnings estimates by a penny but made up for it with a strong view of next-quarter sales. That said, management warned that revenues depend heavily on government sales, and you just never know what Uncle Sam's research budgets will look like next year.

Now what: Illumina's success did not inspire a rally among the company's chief rivals: Affymetrics (NAS: AFFX) is trading down nearly 2% in line with the overall market, Luminex (NAS: LMNX) moved sideways today, and Life Technologies (NAS: LIFE) bucked the trend with a very modest gain. That might be because Illumina also announced a restructuring effort to keep costs in check -- something that hurts in the short term but helps over the long haul.

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At the time thisarticle was published Fool contributor Anders Bylund holds no position in any of the companies mentioned. Motley Fool newsletter services have recommended buying shares of Illumina. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinion, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. Check out Anders' holdings and bio, or follow him on Twitter and Google+. We have a disclosure policy.

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