Piper Jaffray analyst William Quirk says channel checks found 32 NovaSeqs placements in Q3, which suggests Illumina likely placed 60-66 in the quarter, lower than his estimate of 85 and consensus expectations of 89. The analyst, who admits being surprised "with this low check," recommends using any weakness in Illumina shares from placement weakness as a buying opportunity. A stock pullback would present an attractive entry point for a long-term position in Illumina shares "given their myriad of opportunities," Quirk tells investors in a research note. The analyst keeps an Overweight rating on the shares with a $380 price target.