Pacific Biosciences of California (NASDAQ:PACB) Trading Up 10.1%

Shares of Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc. (NASDAQ:PACB) were up 10.1% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $2.03 and last traded at $2.02. Approximately 5,116,811 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 48% from the average daily volume of 9,845,091 shares. The stock had previously closed at $1.83.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on PACB shares. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their target price on shares of Pacific Biosciences of California from $9.00 to $2.50 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Barclays reduced their price target 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. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of Pacific Biosciences of California from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $7.00 to $2.50 in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of Pacific Biosciences of California from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Scotiabank reduced their price target on shares of Pacific Biosciences of California from $15.00 to $8.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $7.77.

Pacific Biosciences of California Trading Down 10.2 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $457.53 million, a PE ratio of -1.38 and a beta of 1.99. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $3.17 and its 200-day moving average price is $6.04. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.27) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $58.36 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $57.96 million. During the same period last year, the business earned ($0.35) EPS. Pacific Biosciences of California’s revenue for the quarter was up 113.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc. will post -1 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Pacific Biosciences of California

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in PACB. Moody Aldrich Partners LLC purchased a new position in Pacific Biosciences of California in the fourth quarter valued at about $4,103,000. ARK Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Pacific Biosciences of California by 15.7% during the fourth quarter. ARK Investment Management LLC now owns 34,504,273 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $338,487,000 after purchasing an additional 4,681,833 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in Pacific Biosciences of California by 37.5% during the third quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 149,131 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,255,000 after purchasing an additional 40,667 shares in the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd grew its holdings in Pacific Biosciences of California by 452.8% in the third 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 last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California by 2,201.0% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 3,041,624 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $29,838,000 after buying an additional 2,909,439 shares in the last quarter.

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.