Pacific Biosciences of California (NASDAQ:PACB) Earns Overweight Rating from Stephens

Pacific Biosciences of California (NASDAQ:PACB)‘s stock had its “overweight” rating restated by equities research analysts at Stephens in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $1.80 target price on the biotechnology company’s stock. Stephens’ price target indicates a potential upside of 73.91% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on shares of Pacific Biosciences of California from $1.75 to $1.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Pacific Biosciences of California to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Piper Sandler restated a “neutral” rating and set a $2.00 price objective (down from $2.50) on shares of Pacific Biosciences of California in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Canaccord Genuity Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $3.00 price objective on shares of Pacific Biosciences of California in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, Scotiabank reduced their price objective on shares of Pacific Biosciences of California from $6.00 to $2.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $2.34.

Pacific Biosciences of California Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PACB opened at $1.04 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $1.20 and its 200 day moving average price is $1.61. Pacific Biosciences of California has a 1 year low of $0.95 and a 1 year high of $2.72. The company has a market capitalization of $310.59 million, a PE ratio of -0.63 and a beta of 2.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.97, a quick ratio of 8.64 and a current ratio of 9.74.

Pacific Biosciences of California (NASDAQ:PACB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.15) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.19) by $0.04. Pacific Biosciences of California had a negative net margin of 200.40% and a negative return on equity of 42.89%. The firm had revenue of $37.15 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $36.90 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.26) earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Pacific Biosciences of California will post -0.72 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Michele Farmer sold 24,349 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1.88, for a total value of $45,776.12. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 187,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $352,672.96. This represents a 11.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Pacific Biosciences of California

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California by 178.9% in the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,660,059 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $3,038,000 after purchasing an additional 1,064,909 shares during the period. ARK Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California by 7.9% in the fourth quarter. ARK Investment Management LLC now owns 36,044,362 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $65,961,000 after purchasing an additional 2,637,961 shares during the period. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in Pacific Biosciences of California during the fourth quarter worth about $8,962,000. New York State Common Retirement Fund boosted its stake in Pacific Biosciences of California by 299.2% during the fourth quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 84,725 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $155,000 after buying an additional 63,500 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in Pacific Biosciences of California by 8.9% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 564,507 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $960,000 after purchasing an additional 45,957 shares in the last quarter.

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.