Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc. (NASDAQ:PACB) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc. (NASDAQ:PACB) have been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the fifteen ratings firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eight have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $7.77.

Several research analysts have issued reports on PACB shares. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Pacific Biosciences of California from $12.50 to $12.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 16th. Scotiabank decreased their price target on Pacific Biosciences of California from $15.00 to $8.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Barclays dropped their price objective on Pacific Biosciences of California from $8.00 to $3.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their target price on shares of Pacific Biosciences of California from $9.00 to $2.50 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Pacific Biosciences of California to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Pacific Biosciences of California

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Pacific Biosciences of California

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Pacific Biosciences of California during the third quarter worth approximately $59,000. Private Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California during the 4th quarter worth about $98,000. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. bought a new position in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California during the first quarter worth approximately $98,000. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Pacific Biosciences of California in the 3rd quarter valued at $105,000. Finally, Carret Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California by 52.4% in the first quarter. Carret Asset Management LLC now owns 32,000 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $120,000 after acquiring an additional 11,000 shares in the last quarter.

Pacific Biosciences of California Stock Performance

Pacific Biosciences of California stock opened at $1.56 on Tuesday. Pacific Biosciences of California has a 12-month low of $1.25 and a 12-month high of $14.55. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $4.05 and a 200 day simple moving average of $6.54. 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 market capitalization of $418.01 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.29 and a beta of 1.83.

Pacific Biosciences of California (NASDAQ:PACB) last announced its earnings results 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. The company had revenue of $58.36 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $57.96 million. Pacific Biosciences of California had a negative net margin of 152.97% and a negative return on equity of 40.23%. The company’s revenue was up 113.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.35) earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Pacific Biosciences of California will post -1.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Pacific Biosciences of California

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.