Pacific Biosciences of California (NASDAQ:PACB) Shares Down 5.6% After Analyst Downgrade

Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc. (NASDAQ:PACB) dropped 5.6% during mid-day trading on Wednesday after Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on the stock from $10.00 to $4.00. Morgan Stanley currently has an equal weight rating on the stock. Pacific Biosciences of California traded as low as $2.03 and last traded at $2.11. Approximately 6,454,726 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 37% from the average daily volume of 10,188,113 shares. The stock had previously closed at $2.23.

Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Piper Sandler cut their target price on Pacific Biosciences of California from $6.50 to $2.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded Pacific Biosciences of California from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $7.00 to $2.50 in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded Pacific Biosciences of California from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Pacific Biosciences of California from $12.50 to $12.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Pacific Biosciences of California to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Pacific Biosciences of California presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $6.59.

Insider Activity at Pacific Biosciences of California

In related news, Director David W. Meline acquired 40,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $4.40 per share, with a total value of $176,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 40,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $176,000. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California during the first quarter worth about $32,000. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S bought a new stake in Pacific Biosciences of California during the first quarter worth approximately $38,000. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Pacific Biosciences of California during the 3rd quarter valued at $59,000. Kennedy Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California during the 1st quarter valued at $64,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in Pacific Biosciences of California during the first quarter worth about $80,000.

Pacific Biosciences of California Stock Up 2.1 %

The company has a market capitalization of $596.46 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.92 and a beta of 1.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 8.36 and a current ratio of 9.28. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $2.76 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $5.80.

Pacific Biosciences of California (NASDAQ:PACB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 9th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.26) EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.26). Pacific Biosciences of California had a negative net margin of 148.13% and a negative return on equity of 40.26%. The company had revenue of $38.81 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $38.78 million. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc. will post -1 EPS for the current year.

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.