Pacific Biosciences of California (NASDAQ:PACB) PT Lowered to $2.50

Pacific Biosciences of California (NASDAQ:PACB) had its price target reduced by research analysts at Sanford C. Bernstein from $9.00 to $2.50 in a research note issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “outperform” rating on the biotechnology company’s stock. Sanford C. Bernstein’s price target indicates a potential upside of 73.55% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other equities analysts have also commented on the stock. Scotiabank reduced their target price on shares of Pacific Biosciences of California from $15.00 to $8.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Pacific Biosciences of California from $12.50 to $12.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 16th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Pacific Biosciences of California to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on shares of Pacific Biosciences of California from $12.00 to $2.50 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of Pacific Biosciences of California from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $7.00 to $2.50 in a research note on Thursday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $7.77.

Pacific Biosciences of California Trading Up 2.9 %

Pacific Biosciences of California stock traded up $0.04 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $1.44. The stock had a trading volume of 12,352,262 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,649,694. The company has a quick ratio of 7.21, a current ratio of 7.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.27. Pacific Biosciences of California has a 52-week low of $1.25 and a 52-week high of $14.55. The firm has a market cap of $385.98 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.19 and a beta of 1.83. The company has a fifty day moving average of $4.36 and a 200 day moving average of $6.69.

Pacific Biosciences of California (NASDAQ:PACB) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $58.36 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $57.96 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($0.35) EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 113.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Pacific Biosciences of California will post -1.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Pacific Biosciences of California

In related news, Director David W. Meline acquired 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $4.40 per share, for a total transaction of $176,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 40,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $176,000. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, insider Oene Mark Van sold 33,560 shares of Pacific Biosciences of California stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 876,611 shares in the company, valued at $5,224,601.56. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director David W. Meline acquired 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were bought at an average price of $4.40 per share, with a total value of $176,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly 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 ninety days, insiders sold 37,359 shares of company stock worth $218,843. Company insiders own 1.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Pacific Biosciences of California

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in PACB. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California by 190.5% during the second quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 8,438,572 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $37,299,000 after purchasing an additional 5,533,953 shares during the last quarter. ARK Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California by 68.5% during the second quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 10,284,090 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $45,456,000 after purchasing an additional 4,179,997 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California by 15.1% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 26,789,552 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $262,806,000 after purchasing an additional 3,514,792 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bellevue Group AG raised its holdings in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California by 214.3% during the first quarter. Bellevue Group AG now owns 4,881,752 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $44,424,000 after purchasing an additional 3,328,729 shares during the last quarter.

Pacific Biosciences of California Company Profile

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.