Scotiabank Lowers Pacific Biosciences of California (NASDAQ:PACB) Price Target to $2.00

Pacific Biosciences of California (NASDAQ:PACB) had its target price decreased by research analysts at Scotiabank from $6.00 to $2.00 in a report released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “sector outperform” rating on the biotechnology company’s stock. Scotiabank’s target price points to a potential upside of 53.26% from the company’s current price.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Piper Sandler reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $2.00 target price (down previously from $2.50) on shares of Pacific Biosciences of California in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $2.50 price target on shares of Pacific Biosciences of California in a research note on Friday, February 14th. StockNews.com raised Pacific Biosciences of California to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on shares of Pacific Biosciences of California from $1.75 to $1.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $2.46.

Pacific Biosciences of California Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PACB traded down $0.03 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $1.31. 1,024,269 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 10,030,158. Pacific Biosciences of California has a 52 week low of $1.16 and a 52 week high of $3.89. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $1.51 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $1.77. The company has a market cap of $388.70 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.80 and a beta of 1.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.97, a quick ratio of 8.64 and a current ratio of 9.74.

Pacific Biosciences of California (NASDAQ:PACB) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.20) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.20). Pacific Biosciences of California had a negative return on equity of 42.89% and a negative net margin of 200.40%. The company had revenue of $39.22 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $39.20 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($0.27) earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Pacific Biosciences of California will post -0.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Oene Mark Van sold 34,405 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $2.03, for a total value of $69,842.15. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 1,597,454 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,242,831.62. This trade represents a 2.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Michele Farmer sold 24,349 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1.88, for a total value of $45,776.12. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 187,592 shares in the company, valued at $352,672.96. This represents a 11.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Pacific Biosciences of California

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California by 641.3% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 408,151 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $694,000 after purchasing an additional 353,092 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California by 5.7% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,276,156 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $10,669,000 after buying an additional 340,766 shares in the last quarter. Soros Fund Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California by 23.6% during the 3rd quarter. Soros Fund Management LLC now owns 2,098,000 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $3,567,000 after acquiring an additional 400,000 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in Pacific Biosciences of California by 143.0% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 595,150 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,011,000 after purchasing an additional 350,196 shares during the period. Finally, ARK Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California by 7.9% in the 4th quarter. ARK Investment Management LLC now owns 36,044,362 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $65,961,000 after purchasing an additional 2,637,961 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.