Pacific Biosciences of California (NASDAQ:PACB) Stock Gets Price Target Reduction from UBS Group

Pacific Biosciences of California (NASDAQ:PACB) had its price target cut by UBS Group from $3.05 to $2.70 in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the biotechnology company’s stock.

PACB has been the topic of a number of other reports. Piper Sandler restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $3.00 price objective (up from $2.00) on shares of Pacific Biosciences of California in a report on Thursday, November 5th. Wall Street Zen raised Pacific Biosciences of California from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 7th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Pacific Biosciences of California from a “sell (e+)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 13th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on Pacific Biosciences of California from $1.25 to $2.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 5th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $2.57.

Pacific Biosciences of California Stock Down 6.7%

Shares of PACB opened at $2.09 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $1.98 and its 200 day moving average price is $1.61. The company has a market cap of $654.02 million, a P/E ratio of -4.98 and a beta of 2.21. Pacific Biosciences of California has a fifty-two week low of $1.07 and a fifty-two week high of $3.43.

Pacific Biosciences of California (NASDAQ:PACB) last announced its quarterly 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. Pacific Biosciences of California had a negative return on equity of 5,752.12% and a negative net margin of 81.31%. The company had revenue of $40.56 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $39.31 million. Research analysts forecast that Pacific Biosciences of California will post -0.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Pacific Biosciences of California

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

Institutional Trading of Pacific Biosciences of California

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PACB. Voya Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Pacific Biosciences of California by 757.3% during the third quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 489,915 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,161,000 after buying an additional 432,770 shares in the last quarter. Carret Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Carret Asset Management LLC now owns 607,140 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,439,000 after acquiring an additional 7,000 shares during the period. StoneX Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California in the third quarter worth about $36,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Pacific Biosciences of California in the 3rd quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, Choreo LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California in the third quarter worth $27,000.

Pacific Biosciences of California Company Profile

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.