Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc. (NASDAQ:PACB) Given Average Recommendation of “Reduce” by Analysts

Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc. (NASDAQ:PACB) has received a consensus recommendation of “Reduce” from the five ratings firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have issued a hold recommendation and one has given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $1.8333.

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on PACB. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Pacific Biosciences of California from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th. 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 report 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 report on Tuesday, August 11th.

Pacific Biosciences of California Price Performance

PACB opened at $1.23 on Friday. Pacific Biosciences of California has a 12 month low of $1.07 and a 12 month high of $2.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $382.32 million, a P/E ratio of -2.86 and a beta of 2.31. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $1.41 and a 200-day simple moving average of $1.46.

Pacific Biosciences of California (NASDAQ:PACB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 3rd. The biotechnology company reported ($0.14) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.13) by ($0.01). Pacific Biosciences of California had a negative return on equity of 5,752.12% and a negative net margin of 82.49%.The business had revenue of $39.01 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $42.90 million. Research analysts anticipate that Pacific Biosciences of California will post -0.52 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Oene Mark Van sold 26,911 shares of Pacific Biosciences of California stock in a transaction on Monday, August 17th. The stock was 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. 3.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California by 177.9% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 899,550 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,187,000 after purchasing an additional 575,801 shares during the last quarter. UBS Group AG increased its stake in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California by 111.8% during the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 3,171,546 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $5,931,000 after purchasing an additional 1,674,320 shares in the last quarter. Casdin Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California by 483.6% during the 4th quarter. Casdin Capital LLC now owns 4,223,767 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $7,898,000 after purchasing an additional 3,500,000 shares during the last quarter. Outlook Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Pacific Biosciences of California in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Pacific Biosciences of California by 10.2% during the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 63,799 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $119,000 after buying an additional 5,883 shares during the last quarter.

About Pacific Biosciences of California

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.