Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc. (NASDAQ:PACB) Receives $2.20 Average PT from Brokerages

Shares of Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc. (NASDAQ:PACB) have been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the seven research firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have given a hold recommendation, three have issued a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $2.20.

Several analysts have recently commented on PACB shares. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of Pacific Biosciences of California from $1.50 to $2.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 11th. Zacks Research upgraded Pacific Biosciences of California from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Pacific Biosciences of California in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Stephens upped their price objective on Pacific Biosciences of California from $1.80 to $2.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 10th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on Pacific Biosciences of California from $1.50 to $2.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 15th.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Christian O. Henry sold 140,874 shares of Pacific Biosciences of California stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1.63, for a total transaction of $229,624.62. Following the sale, the insider owned 2,673,500 shares in the company, valued at $4,357,805. This trade represents a 5.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Oene Mark Van sold 55,107 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1.63, for a total transaction of $89,824.41. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 1,742,638 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,840,499.94. The trade was a 3.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 729,711 shares of company stock worth $1,161,951 over the last quarter. Insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Carret Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California in the second quarter worth about $391,000. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. increased its stake in Pacific Biosciences of California by 89.9% in the 2nd quarter. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. now owns 1,294,186 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,605,000 after acquiring an additional 612,760 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Pacific Biosciences of California by 6.4% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,718,879 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $8,333,000 after acquiring an additional 401,637 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning raised its holdings in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California by 245.9% during the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 175,690 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $218,000 after acquiring an additional 124,893 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its position in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California by 10.1% during the 2nd quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 104,725 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $130,000 after acquiring an additional 9,617 shares during the last quarter.

Pacific Biosciences of California Trading Down 2.6%

Shares of NASDAQ:PACB opened at $1.52 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $1.95 and a 200 day moving average of $1.80. The company has a market cap of $459.04 million, a PE ratio of -0.83 and a beta of 2.31. Pacific Biosciences of California has a 12-month low of $0.85 and a 12-month high of $2.73. The company has a current ratio of 5.15, a quick ratio of 4.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 120.65.

Pacific Biosciences of California (NASDAQ:PACB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.12) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.19) by $0.07. The business had revenue of $44.65 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $44.60 million. Pacific Biosciences of California had a negative net margin of 341.47% and a negative return on equity of 326.43%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Pacific Biosciences of California will post -0.72 EPS for the current year.

Pacific Biosciences of California Company Profile

Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc develops, manufactures and sells high-performance DNA sequencing systems for genetic and genomic analysis. The company’s proprietary single-molecule, real-time (SMRT) sequencing technology is designed to enable long-read sequencing, offering high accuracy for applications such as de novo genome assembly, transcriptome characterization and structural variation analysis. Pacific Biosciences markets a suite of instruments, including the Sequel and Sequel IIe systems, alongside reagents, consumables and data analysis software to support a range of life science research.

Founded in 2004 and headquartered in Menlo Park, California, Pacific Biosciences has expanded its global reach by serving academic institutions, biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies, and government research centers across North America, Europe and Asia.