Pacific Biosciences of California (NASDAQ:PACB) Insider Michele Farmer Sells 14,952 Shares

Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc. (NASDAQ:PACB) insider Michele Farmer sold 14,952 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1.63, for a total transaction of $24,371.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 219,092 shares in the company, valued at approximately $357,119.96. This represents a 6.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

Michele Farmer also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Tuesday, February 17th, Michele Farmer sold 35,215 shares of Pacific Biosciences of California stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $1.58, for a total transaction of $55,639.70.

Pacific Biosciences of California Stock Performance

Shares of PACB stock traded up $0.05 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $1.68. 4,308,048 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,583,859. Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc. has a 52 week low of $0.85 and a 52 week high of $2.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $507.21 million, a P/E ratio of -0.91 and a beta of 2.27. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $2.02 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $1.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 17.88, a quick ratio of 5.40 and a current ratio of 6.24.

Pacific Biosciences of California (NASDAQ:PACB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 12th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.12) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.19) by $0.07. Pacific Biosciences of California had a negative net margin of 341.47% and a negative return on equity of 251.75%. The firm had revenue of $44.65 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $44.60 million. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc. will post -0.72 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Pacific Biosciences of California in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of Pacific Biosciences of California from $1.50 to $2.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 11th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Pacific Biosciences of California from $1.50 to $2.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Finally, Stephens raised their price target on shares of Pacific Biosciences of California from $1.80 to $2.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 10th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Pacific Biosciences of California presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $2.20.

Key Stories Impacting Pacific Biosciences of California

Here are the key news stories impacting Pacific Biosciences of California this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Management will participate in a TD Cowen health-care conference fireside chat on March 2, providing a near-term investor event where the company may update guidance, commercialization progress, or product cadence — a potential catalyst if management delivers constructive news. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Despite the sales, insiders retain large holdings after the transactions (final reported post-sale holdings: Michele Farmer ~219k shares; Christian O. Henry ~2.67M shares; Oene Mark Van ~1.74M shares), which may signal liquidity-taking rather than full exits. (See SEC filings below for details.)
• Negative Sentiment: Heavy insider selling reported Feb. 17–18: combined sales by multiple executives totaled roughly 707,731 shares for about $1.13M. Notable filings: Christian O. Henry sold ~472,667 shares across two trades, Michele Farmer sold ~50,167 shares, and Oene Mark Van sold ~184,897 shares — each reducing their stakes by mid-single to low-double-digit percentages. Large, clustered insider sales can raise investor concern about near-term outlook or signal personal diversification, and may pressure sentiment until management commentary clarifies reasons. SEC filings: Christian O. Henry Read More.; Michele Farmer Read More.; Oene Mark Van Read More..

Institutional Trading of Pacific Biosciences of California

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. ARK Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California by 20.5% in the fourth quarter. ARK Investment Management LLC now owns 37,264,228 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $69,684,000 after purchasing an additional 6,340,125 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Pacific Biosciences of California by 2.3% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 16,379,972 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $20,966,000 after buying an additional 362,797 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Pacific Biosciences of California by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,078,744 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $13,241,000 after buying an additional 172,089 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC increased its holdings in Pacific Biosciences of California by 500.9% in the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 4,916,795 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $6,293,000 after buying an additional 4,098,555 shares during the period. Finally, Casdin Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California by 483.6% in the 4th quarter. Casdin Capital LLC now owns 4,223,767 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $7,898,000 after buying an additional 3,500,000 shares in the last quarter.

About Pacific Biosciences of California

Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc develops, manufactures and sells high-performance DNA sequencing systems for genetic and genomic analysis. The company’s proprietary single-molecule, real-time (SMRT) sequencing technology is designed to enable long-read sequencing, offering high accuracy for applications such as de novo genome assembly, transcriptome characterization and structural variation analysis. Pacific Biosciences markets a suite of instruments, including the Sequel and Sequel IIe systems, alongside reagents, consumables and data analysis software to support a range of life science research.

Founded in 2004 and headquartered in Menlo Park, California, Pacific Biosciences has expanded its global reach by serving academic institutions, biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies, and government research centers across North America, Europe and Asia.