Pacific Biosciences of California (NASDAQ:PACB) Shares Up 11% – Still a Buy?

Shares of Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc. (NASDAQ:PACB) traded up 11% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $1.65 and last traded at $1.6650. 1,090,508 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 83% from the average session volume of 6,563,528 shares. The stock had previously closed at $1.50.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PACB has been the topic of a number of research reports. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Pacific Biosciences of California from $1.00 to $1.50 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Zacks Research lowered Pacific Biosciences of California from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Pacific Biosciences of California in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Pacific Biosciences of California has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $1.83.

Pacific Biosciences of California Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $514.04 million, a P/E ratio of -3.85 and a beta of 2.29. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $1.44 and its 200 day moving average is $1.63.

Pacific Biosciences of California (NASDAQ:PACB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.12) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.17) by $0.05. The business had revenue of $37.18 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $39.94 million. Pacific Biosciences of California had a negative return on equity of 571.06% and a negative net margin of 80.35%. As a group, analysts expect that Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc. will post -0.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Pacific Biosciences of California

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of PACB. ProShare Advisors LLC grew its position in Pacific Biosciences of California by 10.2% during the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 63,799 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $119,000 after buying an additional 5,883 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California by 5.2% in the third quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 132,368 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $169,000 after acquiring an additional 6,564 shares during the period. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV boosted its stake in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California by 47.9% during the 4th quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 20,663 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 6,695 shares in the last quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc grew its position in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California by 6.2% during the 1st quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 142,057 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $188,000 after acquiring an additional 8,290 shares during the period. Finally, Green Alpha Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. Green Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 183,466 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $343,000 after acquiring an additional 9,441 shares during the period.

About Pacific Biosciences of California

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.