Hologic CEO Steve MacMillan says he's not leaving after taking on Illumina chair role

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Hologic Inc. (NASDAQ:HOLX) CEO Steve MacMillan said he doesn't plan to go anywhere after he was appointed chairman of Illumina (NASDAQ:ILMN) in June.

"Let’s be really clear, I’m going to be at Hologic through the end of my useful life in terms of what I’ve worked for, built for," MacMillan said on the company's Q2 earnings call on Monday. "So this is my day job. This is my passion. This is my love. What I have to see is the company five minutes away, that's troubled that I thought, frankly, I could also help out in a different role, which is as Chairman of the Board."

There had been some speculation that MacMillan could be headed to become the CEO of fellow San Diego-based company Illumina (ILMN) after its former CEO, Francis deSouza, stepped down from the gene-sequencing maker in June amid pressure from activist investor Carl Icahn.

"While we are encouraged by Steve’s commitment, we struggle with HOLX’s current valuation and long-term growth strategy," RBC analyst Conor McNamara, who cut his price target on HOLX to $85 and maintained his sector perform rating in a note on Tuesday following the company's Q2 results.

Hologic (HOLX) shares fell 4.2% on Tuesday, while Illumina (ILMN) dropped 1.4%.

More on Hologic and Illumina

• Hologic: Additional Critical Factors Forming Bullish Thesis, Reiterate Buy
• Hologic upgraded to buy at Needham on easing COVID headwinds
• Illumina, Inc.: Collapsing Margins, Rising Debt, Legal Setbacks, And Downward Momentum
• Illumina Or Pacific Biosciences? The Upstart Vs. The 800-Pound Gorilla

Comments

[cash]

Problem is Illumina. They overplayed their hand during Covid & with Grail turning into a fiasco.

Illumina needs scientists, researchers & innovators to stand out. But the management has invested in marketeers & the useless middlemen/managers.

Returning to the fundamentals that got them here and getting rid of the wasteful layers of management would be the first thing a new leader should focus on.

[bluescorpion0]

Souza 2.0? The problem is probably larger, namely this is not going to be a great moat business any longer. It is going to be like any other capital goods or inkjet cartridge type business. Did you see the number of companies launching sequencers? Dime a dozen. Like lasers industry, or semi industry this is at high risk of low valuation and intense competition. Yeah they make some software too which probably will keep the valuation elevated (something like ROK, for example). The other problem is that like defense/government spending which is generally bad business, this is even worse - academic business. And that gets even less funding than defense! I guess drug companies use this and is part of their r&d input, but then you are investing like a CROs, in the capex budget of drug discovery, perhaps like CRL.

[CNY Investor]

I just saw MacMillan's interview on CNBC. Of course, he defended his decision to accept the ILMN role and contends the share price is suffering today due to some analyst's realization that most of the Covid test revenue won't return.

[CNY Investor]

As a HOLX shareholder, I'm not pleased that MacMillan has a concurrent lead role in ILMN. Although Elon and a few others have shown that it's possible, I don't think it's good policy. Was ILMN so desperate for a replacement that they hired a part-time chair? Why did the HOLX board approve this? I want full-time management at the companies that I own shares.