Piper Sandler Reaffirms “Neutral” Rating for Pacific Biosciences of California (NASDAQ:PACB)

Pacific Biosciences of California (NASDAQ:PACB)‘s stock had its “neutral” rating reaffirmed by equities research analysts at Piper Sandler in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $2.00 price target on the biotechnology company’s stock, down from their previous price target of $2.50. Piper Sandler’s price objective points to a potential upside of 29.87% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently commented on the stock. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $2.50 price objective on shares of Pacific Biosciences of California in a research report on Friday, February 14th. StockNews.com raised Pacific Biosciences of California to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on Pacific Biosciences of California from $1.75 to $1.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. UBS Group cut Pacific Biosciences of California from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $2.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Scotiabank cut their target price on Pacific Biosciences of California from $7.00 to $6.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Pacific Biosciences of California currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $2.79.

Pacific Biosciences of California Trading Down 6.1 %

NASDAQ:PACB opened at $1.54 on Thursday. Pacific Biosciences of California has a 12-month low of $1.16 and a 12-month high of $6.09. The firm has a market cap of $421.75 million, a PE ratio of -0.94 and a beta of 1.92. The company has a current ratio of 9.74, a quick ratio of 8.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.97. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $1.76 and a 200 day moving average price of $1.79.

Pacific Biosciences of California (NASDAQ:PACB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.20) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $39.22 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $39.20 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($0.27) EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Pacific Biosciences of California will post -0.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Oene Mark Van sold 34,405 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 $3,242,831.62. This represents a 2.11 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Michele Farmer sold 24,349 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1.88, for a total transaction of $45,776.12. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 187,592 shares in the company, valued at $352,672.96. The trade was a 11.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 2.40% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Pacific Biosciences of California

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. 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 last quarter. Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. lifted its holdings in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. now owns 21,346,480 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $39,064,000 after purchasing an additional 1,038,600 shares during the period. Softbank Group CORP. purchased a new position in Pacific Biosciences of California in the 4th quarter valued at $37,426,000. Millennium Management LLC increased its stake in Pacific Biosciences of California by 66.9% in the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 17,065,331 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $31,230,000 after buying an additional 6,840,953 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Pacific Biosciences of California by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,327,906 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $10,759,000 after buying an additional 225,034 shares during 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.