Pacific Biosciences of California (NASDAQ:PACB) Trading Down 5.3%

Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc. (NASDAQ:PACB) shares fell 5.3% on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $1.88 and last traded at $1.89. 4,993,107 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 50% from the average session volume of 9,958,603 shares. The stock had previously closed at $1.99.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PACB has been the topic of several research reports. UBS Group cut their target price on Pacific Biosciences of California from $12.50 to $12.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut Pacific Biosciences of California from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Barclays dropped their target price on Pacific Biosciences of California from $8.00 to $3.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Pacific Biosciences of California to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of Pacific Biosciences of California from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $7.00 to $2.50 in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $7.77.

Pacific Biosciences of California Stock Down 6.0 %

The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $3.24 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $6.08. The company has a market cap of $509.28 million, a PE ratio of -1.64 and a beta of 1.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 7.81 and a quick ratio of 7.21.

Pacific Biosciences of California (NASDAQ:PACB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.27) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.29) by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $58.36 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $57.96 million. Pacific Biosciences of California had a negative return on equity of 40.23% and a negative net margin of 152.97%. Pacific Biosciences of California’s revenue for the quarter was up 113.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned ($0.35) EPS. On average, analysts predict that Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc. will post -1 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Pacific Biosciences of California

In related news, Director David W. Meline purchased 40,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $4.40 per share, with a total value of $176,000.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 40,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $176,000. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Pacific Biosciences of California news, insider Oene Mark Van sold 33,560 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.96, for a total transaction of $200,017.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 876,611 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,224,601.56. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director David W. Meline purchased 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $4.40 per share, for a total transaction of $176,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 40,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $176,000. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 37,359 shares of company stock valued at $218,843 in the last three months. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S acquired a new stake in Pacific Biosciences of California during the 1st quarter worth $38,000. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Pacific Biosciences of California during the third quarter worth about $59,000. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Pacific Biosciences of California during the 1st quarter valued at about $80,000. Private Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Pacific Biosciences of California in the 4th quarter valued at about $98,000. Finally, First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. purchased a new position in Pacific Biosciences of California in the 1st quarter worth approximately $98,000.

Pacific Biosciences of California Company Profile

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.