Pacific Biosciences of California (NASDAQ:PACB) Stock Falls 6.9% – Time to Sell?

Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc. (NASDAQ:PACB) traded down 6.9% during trading on Wednesday. The stock traded as low as $2.56 and last traded at $2.5150. Approximately 2,565,306 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 67% from the average daily volume of 7,680,212 shares. The stock had previously closed at $2.70.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on PACB shares. Weiss Ratings cut Pacific Biosciences of California from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “sell (e+)” rating in a research note on Monday, September 28th. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Pacific Biosciences of California in a report on Wednesday, September 9th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $1.35 price objective on the stock. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Pacific Biosciences of California from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Pacific Biosciences of California currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $1.71.

Pacific Biosciences of California Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $714.91 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.35 and a beta of 2.19. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $1.52 and a 200-day moving average price of $1.47.

Pacific Biosciences of California (NASDAQ:PACB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The biotechnology company reported ($0.14) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.13) by ($0.01). Pacific Biosciences of California had a negative net margin of 82.49% and a negative return on equity of 5,752.12%. The company had revenue of $39.01 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $42.90 million. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc. will post -0.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider James R. Gibson II sold 661,815 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.11, for a total transaction of $2,058,244.65. Following the sale, the insider owned 1,083,848 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,370,767.28. This trade represents a 37.91% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Mark Van Oene sold 26,911 shares of Pacific Biosciences of California stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1.13, for a total transaction of $30,409.43. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 2,705,853 shares in the company, valued at $3,057,613.89. This trade represents a 0.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Corporate insiders own 3.70% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Pacific Biosciences of California

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California during the 2nd quarter worth $54,330,000. Casdin Capital LLC raised its stake in Pacific Biosciences of California by 483.6% during the fourth quarter. Casdin Capital LLC now owns 4,223,767 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $7,898,000 after acquiring an additional 3,500,000 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in Pacific Biosciences of California during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,265,000. Hhlr Advisors LTD. acquired a new position in Pacific Biosciences of California in the 2nd quarter worth about $1,544,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in Pacific Biosciences of California in the second quarter valued at about $1,290,000.

Pacific Biosciences of California Company Profile

Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc develops and sells advanced genetic sequencing technologies. The company’s platform is based on single-molecule, real-time (SMRT) sequencing, which is designed to produce highly accurate, long DNA reads. These reads can help researchers identify genetic variation, assemble genomes, and analyze complex biological systems that may be difficult to study using short-read sequencing methods.

PacBio’s product portfolio includes the Revio and Sequel IIe sequencing systems, SMRT Cells and other consumables, library-preparation products, and software for instrument operation, data analysis, and interpretation.