Pacific Biosciences of California (NASDAQ:PACB) Shares Cross Below 50-Day Moving Average – Should You Sell?

Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc. (NASDAQ:PACB)’s share price passed below its fifty day moving average during trading on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $1.99 and traded as low as $1.80. Pacific Biosciences of California shares last traded at $1.97, with a volume of 10,334,260 shares trading hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen raised Pacific Biosciences of California from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 7th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Pacific Biosciences of California from $1.25 to $2.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 5th. Piper Sandler reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $3.00 price objective (up from $2.00) on shares of Pacific Biosciences of California in a research report on Thursday, November 5th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Pacific Biosciences of California from a “sell (e+)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 13th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price objective on Pacific Biosciences of California from $3.05 to $2.70 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $2.57.

Pacific Biosciences of California Trading Down 5.7%

The business’s 50 day moving average price is $1.99 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $1.61. The company has a market capitalization of $616.47 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.69 and a beta of 2.21.

Pacific Biosciences of California (NASDAQ:PACB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 4th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.11) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.13) by $0.02. Pacific Biosciences of California had a negative net margin of 81.31% and a negative return on equity of 5,752.12%. The company had revenue of $40.56 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $39.31 million. Analysts expect that Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc. will post -0.51 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Mark Van Oene sold 26,911 shares of the business’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 transaction, the insider owned 2,705,853 shares in the company, valued at $3,057,613.89. The trade was a 0.98% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 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 the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.11, for a total value of $2,058,244.65. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 1,083,848 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,370,767.28. The trade was a 37.91% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Corporate insiders own 3.70% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Pacific Biosciences of California

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of PACB. Essential Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California in the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Choreo LLC purchased a new position in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California during the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Interchange Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in Pacific Biosciences of California in the 3rd quarter worth $28,000. Corient Private Wealth LP purchased a new stake in Pacific Biosciences of California during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Pinegrove Venture Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California in the second quarter worth about $34,584.

About Pacific Biosciences of California

Pacific Biosciences of California, or PacBio, develops and sells DNA sequencing systems and related products for life science research and clinical applications. The company is known for its single-molecule real-time (SMRT) sequencing technology, which produces long reads that can help researchers study complex regions of the genome and identify genetic variations. Its portfolio includes HiFi sequencing systems such as the Revio and Vega platforms, along with instruments, consumables, software and services used to prepare, sequence and analyze genetic samples.