TD Cowen Lowers Pacific Biosciences of California (NASDAQ:PACB) Price Target to $2.50

Pacific Biosciences of California (NASDAQ:PACB) had its price objective trimmed by TD Cowen from $12.00 to $2.50 in a report released on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the biotechnology company’s stock.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on Pacific Biosciences of California from $9.00 to $7.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Pacific Biosciences of California from $12.50 to $12.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 16th. StockNews.com raised shares of Pacific Biosciences of California to a sell rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Pacific Biosciences of California from $8.00 to $3.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $7.77.

Pacific Biosciences of California Price Performance

Shares of PACB stock opened at $1.55 on Wednesday. Pacific Biosciences of California has a 1-year low of $1.25 and a 1-year high of $14.55. The company has a quick ratio of 7.21, a current ratio of 7.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.27. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $4.15 and a 200-day simple moving average of $6.61.

Pacific Biosciences of California (NASDAQ:PACB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 15th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.27) earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $58.36 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $57.96 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted ($0.35) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 113.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Pacific Biosciences of California will post -1.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Institutional Trading of Pacific Biosciences of California

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of PACB. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California by 280.2% during the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,015,819 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $9,244,000 after purchasing an additional 748,630 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE increased its position in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California by 10.6% during the 1st quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 25,761 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $234,000 after purchasing an additional 2,469 shares during the last quarter. AlphaCrest Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California during the 1st quarter worth about $286,000. MetLife Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California by 50.1% during the 1st quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 103,966 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $946,000 after purchasing an additional 34,699 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vontobel Holding Ltd. increased its position in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California by 25.8% during the 1st quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 115,645 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,116,000 after purchasing an additional 23,693 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.