Insider Selling: Pacific Biosciences of California (NASDAQ:PACB) Insider Sells 26,911 Shares of Stock

Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc. (NASDAQ:PACB) insider Oene Mark Van sold 26,911 shares of the firm’s 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,057,613.89. The trade was a 0.98% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards.

Pacific Biosciences of California Trading Down 5.8%

PACB traded down $0.07 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $1.14. 4,817,659 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,498,752. The firm has a market cap of $354.35 million, a P/E ratio of -2.65 and a beta of 2.31. Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc. has a 12-month low of $1.07 and a 12-month high of $2.73. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $1.41 and a 200 day moving average of $1.48.

Pacific Biosciences of California (NASDAQ:PACB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The biotechnology company reported ($0.14) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $39.01 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $42.90 million. As a group, research analysts expect that Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc. will post -0.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Pacific Biosciences of California

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Essential Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Pacific Biosciences of California in the first quarter valued at $25,000. Zacks Investment Management purchased a new position in Pacific Biosciences of California during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd lifted its stake in Pacific Biosciences of California by 891.1% in the third quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 22,776 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 20,478 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California in the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LP purchased a new position in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California during the second quarter worth approximately $30,000.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on PACB. Wall Street Zen downgraded Pacific Biosciences of California from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th. Zacks Research downgraded Pacific Biosciences of California from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Barclays upped 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 note on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Pacific Biosciences of California from a “sell (e+)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $1.83.

Pacific Biosciences of California Company Profile

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.