StockNews.com Upgrades Pacific Biosciences of California (NASDAQ:PACB) to Sell

Pacific Biosciences of California (NASDAQ:PACB) was upgraded by research analysts at StockNews.com to a “sell” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday.

PACB has been the topic of several other research reports. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Pacific Biosciences of California from $12.50 to $12.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Pacific Biosciences of California from $8.00 to $3.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on shares of Pacific Biosciences of California from $9.00 to $7.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, TD Cowen decreased their price objective on shares of Pacific Biosciences of California from $12.00 to $2.50 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $7.77.

Pacific Biosciences of California Stock Up 4.3 %

Shares of PACB stock opened at $1.46 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 7.81, a quick ratio of 7.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.27. Pacific Biosciences of California has a 12 month low of $1.25 and a 12 month high of $14.55. The stock has a market cap of $391.21 million, a P/E ratio of -1.21 and a beta of 1.83. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $4.25 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $6.65.

Pacific Biosciences of California (NASDAQ:PACB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 15th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.27) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.29) by $0.02. Pacific Biosciences of California had a negative net margin of 152.97% and a negative return on equity of 40.23%. The firm had revenue of $58.36 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $57.96 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.35) EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 113.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Pacific Biosciences of California will post -1.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Pacific Biosciences of California

In other Pacific Biosciences of California news, Director David W. Meline bought 40,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $4.40 per share, for a total transaction of $176,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 40,000 shares in the company, valued at $176,000. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, Director David W. Meline purchased 40,000 shares of Pacific Biosciences of California stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were bought at an average price of $4.40 per share, with a total value of $176,000.00. Following the purchase, 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 is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Oene Mark Van sold 33,560 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.96, for a total transaction of $200,017.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 876,611 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,224,601.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 37,359 shares of company stock valued at $218,843 in the last quarter. 1.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Fairfield Bush & CO. purchased a new stake in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California in the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. KBC Group NV bought a new stake in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California in the fourth quarter valued at about $53,000. Comerica Bank purchased a new stake in Pacific Biosciences of California in the third quarter worth about $46,000. Captrust Financial Advisors grew its holdings in Pacific Biosciences of California by 217.2% during the 2nd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 6,163 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 4,220 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Pacific Biosciences of California during the 3rd quarter valued at about $59,000.

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.