Brokerages Set Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc. (NASDAQ:PACB) Price Target at $2.10

Shares of Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc. (NASDAQ:PACB) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the six ratings firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $2.1250.

A number of equities analysts recently commented on PACB shares. Zacks Research raised Pacific Biosciences of California from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Barclays reissued an “underweight” rating and issued a $1.50 price objective (down from $2.00) on shares of Pacific Biosciences of California in a research report on Friday, March 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Pacific Biosciences of California in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd.

Insider Activity

In other Pacific Biosciences of California news, insider Christian O. Henry sold 331,793 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1.58, for a total transaction of $524,232.94. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 2,814,374 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,446,710.92. This represents a 10.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Michele Farmer sold 35,215 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1.58, for a total value of $55,639.70. Following the sale, the insider owned 234,044 shares in the company, valued at $369,789.52. The trade was a 13.08% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders have sold 729,711 shares of company stock worth $1,161,951. 2.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Pacific Biosciences of California

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PACB. ARK Investment Management LLC boosted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 6,340,125 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California by 500.9% during the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 4,916,795 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $6,293,000 after buying an additional 4,098,555 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California in the fourth quarter valued at about $7,201,000. Casdin Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California by 483.6% in the fourth quarter. Casdin Capital LLC now owns 4,223,767 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $7,898,000 after buying an additional 3,500,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amiral Gestion purchased a new position in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California in the second quarter worth about $3,208,000.

Pacific Biosciences of California Stock Performance

Shares of PACB opened at $1.26 on Tuesday. Pacific Biosciences of California has a one year low of $0.85 and a one year high of $2.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $380.52 million, a P/E ratio of -0.68 and a beta of 2.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 120.65, a current ratio of 5.15 and a quick ratio of 4.47. The business has a fifty day moving average of $1.73 and a 200 day moving average of $1.81.

Pacific Biosciences of California (NASDAQ:PACB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 12th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.12) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.19) by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $44.65 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $44.60 million. Pacific Biosciences of California had a negative return on equity of 326.43% and a negative net margin of 341.47%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Pacific Biosciences of California will post -0.72 EPS for the current year.

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.