Piper Sandler Reaffirms Neutral Rating for Pacific Biosciences of California (NASDAQ:PACB)

Pacific Biosciences of California (NASDAQ:PACB)‘s stock had its “neutral” rating reaffirmed by investment analysts at Piper Sandler in a report released on Thursday, Benzinga reports. They presently have a $3.00 price target on the biotechnology company’s stock, up from their previous price target of $2.00. Piper Sandler‘s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 18.34% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on PACB. UBS Group assumed 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 target for the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Pacific Biosciences of California from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Pacific Biosciences of California from a “sell (e+)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Pacific Biosciences of California currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $1.96.

Pacific Biosciences of California Price Performance

Shares of Pacific Biosciences of California stock traded down $0.01 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $2.54. 11,658,444 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,296,380. Pacific Biosciences of California has a 52 week low of $1.07 and a 52 week high of $3.43. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $1.89 and a 200-day simple moving average of $1.62. The firm has a market cap of $787.95 million, a P/E ratio of -5.92 and a beta of 2.21.

Pacific Biosciences of California (NASDAQ:PACB) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.11) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.13) by $0.02. The business had revenue of $40.56 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $39.31 million. Pacific Biosciences of California had a negative net margin of 82.49% and a negative return on equity of 5,752.12%. Equities research analysts expect that Pacific Biosciences of California will post -0.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Pacific Biosciences of California

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in PACB. Hhlr Advisors LTD. bought a new stake in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California during the 2nd quarter valued at $1,544,000. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in Pacific Biosciences of California in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $54,330,000. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California in the 2nd quarter valued at $2,265,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California during the second quarter valued at about $1,290,000. Finally, Man Group plc bought a new position in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California during the second quarter valued at $1,004,000.

Key Headlines Impacting Pacific Biosciences of California

Here are the key news stories impacting Pacific Biosciences of California this week:

• Positive Sentiment: For Q3 2026, PacBio reported a loss of $0.11 per share, better than the $0.13 loss analysts expected, while revenue of $40.56 million exceeded the $39.31 million consensus estimate. Zacks Q3 earnings report
• Positive Sentiment: A Q3 analysis pointed to clinical adoption and AI partnerships as contributors to steady growth, suggesting potential longer-term demand opportunities. Q3 clinical adoption and AI partnerships analysis
• Neutral Sentiment: PacBio narrowed its 2026 revenue guidance to $155 million–$160 million. A tighter range provides an updated outlook, but the article does not specify whether it represents a change in expected performance. Revenue guidance and cash-flow target
• Negative Sentiment: The company still posted a quarterly loss, and management is targeting cash-flow breakeven only in 2028, underscoring the time and execution required to reach sustainable finances. Cash-flow breakeven outlook

About Pacific Biosciences of California

Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc (NASDAQ: PACB) is a life sciences technology company that develops and supplies DNA sequencing systems, consumables and related software. The company is best known for its single-molecule, real-time (SMRT) sequencing technology, which produces highly accurate long-read data used to analyze complex genomes, structural variation, genetic disease and other biological information.

PacBio’s product portfolio includes the Revio long-read sequencing system, the Sequel II and Sequel IIe platforms, sequencing consumables and the associated data-analysis software.