Why Illumina, Spirit AeroSystems Holdings, and Frontier Communications Jumped Today

Wednesday was another mixed day for stocks. The Dow Jones Industrials jumped above the 22,000 mark early during the session on the strength of earnings from one of the average's most influential components, but the broader market was mostly flat on the day. Economic data on the employment front suggested a possible slowdown for the labor market, and that in turn chilled bullish sentiment among some investors. Yet with earnings season hitting its peak, plenty of companies had good news that sent their share prices higher. Illumina (NASDAQ: ILMN), Spirit AeroSystems Holdings (NYSE: SPR), and Frontier Communications (NASDAQ: FTR) were among the best performers on the day. Below, we'll look more closely at these stocks to tell you why they did so well.

Share of Illumina moved higher by 15% after the company reported its second-quarter financial results. The gene-sequencing specialist said that revenue rose 10% from the year-ago quarter, and even though adjusted earnings fell compared to last year's second quarter, investors were still pleased with how well they held up. In particular, strong demand for the NovaSeq sequencing system and for microarray services showed the growth potential for Illumina's core products, and Illumina is doing a good job of getting customers to buy into its lower-cost systems. Investors hope that those entry-level customers will eventually move on to buy more expensive products. In addition, prospects for greater expansion internationally and efforts to tap into consumer demand for genealogy and health-related genetic services could keep Illumina growing well into the future.

Image source: Illumina.

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Source: Fool.com