Pacific Biosciences of California (NASDAQ:PACB) Given Neutral Rating at Piper Sandler

Pacific Biosciences of California (NASDAQ:PACB)‘s stock had its “neutral” rating reiterated by research analysts at Piper Sandler in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $2.00 price objective on the biotechnology company’s stock, down from their prior price objective of $2.50. Piper Sandler’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 23.84% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other research analysts have also weighed in on the company. 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. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $2.50 target price on shares of Pacific Biosciences of California in a research report on Friday, February 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on Pacific Biosciences of California from $1.75 to $1.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. UBS Group lowered Pacific Biosciences of California from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $2.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Pacific Biosciences of California to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $2.79.

Pacific Biosciences of California Price Performance

NASDAQ:PACB traded down $0.16 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $1.62. 8,377,246 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 12,683,980. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $1.78 and its 200-day moving average is $1.79. The stock has a market cap of $442.28 million, a P/E ratio of -0.99 and a beta of 1.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.97, a current ratio of 9.74 and a quick ratio of 8.64. Pacific Biosciences of California has a 1-year low of $1.16 and a 1-year high of $6.09.

Pacific Biosciences of California (NASDAQ:PACB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.20) earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $39.22 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $39.20 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted ($0.27) EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Pacific Biosciences of California will post -0.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Michele Farmer sold 24,349 shares of Pacific Biosciences of California stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1.88, for a total value of $45,776.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 187,592 shares in the company, valued at approximately $352,672.96. This trade represents a 11.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Oene Mark Van sold 34,405 shares of Pacific Biosciences of California stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $2.03, for a total value of $69,842.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 1,597,454 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,242,831.62. This trade represents a 2.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 2.40% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Pacific Biosciences of California

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. FMR LLC grew its stake in Pacific Biosciences of California by 641.3% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 408,151 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $694,000 after purchasing an additional 353,092 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in Pacific Biosciences of California by 5.7% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,276,156 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $10,669,000 after purchasing an additional 340,766 shares in the last quarter. Soros Fund Management LLC grew its stake in Pacific Biosciences of California by 23.6% in the third quarter. Soros Fund Management LLC now owns 2,098,000 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $3,567,000 after purchasing an additional 400,000 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC grew its stake in Pacific Biosciences of California by 143.0% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 595,150 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,011,000 after purchasing an additional 350,196 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Senvest Management LLC grew its stake in Pacific Biosciences of California by 36.1% in the third quarter. Senvest Management LLC now owns 1,093,954 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,860,000 after purchasing an additional 290,000 shares in the last quarter.

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.