Pacific Biosciences of California’s (PACB) “Neutral” Rating Reaffirmed at Piper Sandler

Piper Sandler reiterated their neutral rating on shares of Pacific Biosciences of California (NASDAQ:PACB) in a report released on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. Piper Sandler currently has a $2.00 price target on the biotechnology company’s stock, down from their previous price target of $2.50.

Several other brokerages also recently commented on PACB. StockNews.com raised shares of Pacific Biosciences of California to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on shares of Pacific Biosciences of California from $1.75 to $1.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. UBS Group downgraded shares of Pacific Biosciences of California from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $2.00 target price for the company. in a report on Monday, November 11th. Scotiabank reduced their target price on shares of Pacific Biosciences of California from $7.00 to $6.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $2.50 price objective on shares of Pacific Biosciences of California in a research note on Friday, February 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Pacific Biosciences of California presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $2.79.

Pacific Biosciences of California Trading Down 7.3 %

Shares of PACB opened at $1.64 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $1.77 and a 200-day moving average of $1.79. Pacific Biosciences of California has a one year low of $1.16 and a one year high of $6.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.97, a current ratio of 9.74 and a quick ratio of 8.64.

Pacific Biosciences of California (NASDAQ:PACB) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.20) EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of ($0.20). The business had revenue of $39.22 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $39.20 million. Pacific Biosciences of California had a negative net margin of 200.40% and a negative return on equity of 42.89%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.27) EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Pacific Biosciences of California will post -0.72 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Oene Mark Van sold 34,405 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $2.03, for a total transaction of $69,842.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,597,454 shares in the company, valued at $3,242,831.62. This represents a 2.11 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Michele Farmer sold 24,349 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1.88, for a total transaction of $45,776.12. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 187,592 shares in the company, valued at $352,672.96. The trade was a 11.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 2.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Pacific Biosciences of California

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. ARK Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California by 7.9% in the 4th quarter. ARK Investment Management LLC now owns 36,044,362 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $65,961,000 after purchasing an additional 2,637,961 shares during the last quarter. Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. boosted its stake in Pacific Biosciences of California by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. now owns 21,346,480 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $39,064,000 after acquiring an additional 1,038,600 shares in the last quarter. Softbank Group CORP. bought a new position in Pacific Biosciences of California during the fourth quarter worth $37,426,000. Millennium Management LLC raised its holdings in Pacific Biosciences of California by 66.9% during the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 17,065,331 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $31,230,000 after buying an additional 6,840,953 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Pacific Biosciences of California by 3.7% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,327,906 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $10,759,000 after buying an additional 225,034 shares during the last quarter.

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.