Pacific Biosciences of California (NASDAQ:PACB) Lifted to “Sell” at StockNews.com

Pacific Biosciences of California (NASDAQ:PACB) was upgraded by investment analysts at StockNews.com to a “sell” rating in a report released on Wednesday.

A number of other equities analysts have also weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on shares of Pacific Biosciences of California from $9.00 to $7.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. TD Cowen dropped their target price on shares of Pacific Biosciences of California from $12.00 to $2.50 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Pacific Biosciences of California from $12.50 to $12.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Pacific Biosciences of California from $8.00 to $3.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $9.05.

Pacific Biosciences of California Stock Performance

Shares of PACB remained flat at $1.40 during mid-day trading on Wednesday. 35,341,825 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,625,326. The firm has a market capitalization of $375.13 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.16 and a beta of 1.83. Pacific Biosciences of California has a fifty-two week low of $1.25 and a fifty-two week high of $14.55. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $4.36 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $6.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 7.21 and a current ratio of 7.81.

Pacific Biosciences of California (NASDAQ:PACB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.27) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.29) by $0.02. Pacific Biosciences of California had a negative net margin of 152.97% and a negative return on equity of 40.23%. The business had revenue of $58.36 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $57.96 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted ($0.35) earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 113.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Pacific Biosciences of California will post -1.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Oene Mark Van sold 33,560 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.96, for a total value of $200,017.60. Following the sale, the insider now owns 876,611 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,224,601.56. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, insider Oene Mark Van sold 33,560 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.96, for a total value of $200,017.60. Following the sale, the insider now owns 876,611 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,224,601.56. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director David W. Meline bought 40,000 shares of Pacific Biosciences of California stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $4.40 per share, for a total transaction of $176,000.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 40,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $176,000. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 37,359 shares of company stock valued at $218,843. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Moody Aldrich Partners LLC purchased a new position in Pacific Biosciences of California in the 4th quarter worth about $4,103,000. ARK Investment Management LLC increased its position in Pacific Biosciences of California by 15.7% during the 4th quarter. ARK Investment Management LLC now owns 34,504,273 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $338,487,000 after purchasing an additional 4,681,833 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its position in Pacific Biosciences of California by 37.5% during the 3rd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 149,131 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,255,000 after purchasing an additional 40,667 shares during the period. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd increased its position in Pacific Biosciences of California by 452.8% during the 3rd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 330,331 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $2,758,000 after purchasing an additional 270,573 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in Pacific Biosciences of California by 2,201.0% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 3,041,624 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $29,838,000 after purchasing an additional 2,909,439 shares during the period.

About Pacific Biosciences of California

Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc designs, develops, and manufactures sequencing solution to resolve genetically complex problems. The company provides sequencing systems; consumable products, including single molecule real-time (SMRT) technology; long-red sequencing; and various reagent kits designed for specific workflow, such as preparation kit to convert DNA into SMRTbell double-stranded DNA library formats, including molecular biology reagents, such as ligase, buffers, and exonucleases.