Pacific Biosciences of California (NASDAQ:PACB) Shares Gap Up – Time to Buy?

Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc. (NASDAQ:PACB) shares gapped up before the market opened on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $1.87, but opened at $1.95. Pacific Biosciences of California shares last traded at $1.9150, with a volume of 1,343,548 shares trading hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PACB has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective 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 boosted 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 report on Monday, December 15th. Stephens increased 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 note on Monday, November 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Pacific Biosciences of California in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $2.08.

Pacific Biosciences of California Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 6.24, a quick ratio of 5.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 17.88. The company has a market cap of $555.51 million, a PE ratio of -0.84 and a beta of 2.20. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $2.02 and a two-hundred day moving average of $1.62.

Pacific Biosciences of California (NASDAQ:PACB) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, March 29th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.23) EPS for the quarter. Pacific Biosciences of California had a negative return on equity of 101.49% and a negative net margin of 325.02%.The company had revenue of $3.34 million during the quarter. Research analysts predict that Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc. will post -0.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Pacific Biosciences of California

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Millennium Management LLC boosted its stake in Pacific Biosciences of California by 500.9% during the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 4,916,795 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $6,293,000 after purchasing an additional 4,098,555 shares during the last quarter. Amiral Gestion purchased a new position in Pacific Biosciences of California in the 2nd quarter worth about $3,208,000. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in Pacific Biosciences of California by 109.6% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,472,690 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,885,000 after acquiring an additional 769,987 shares during the period. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California by 89.9% during the 2nd quarter. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. now owns 1,294,186 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,605,000 after acquiring an additional 612,760 shares during the last quarter. Finally, IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd grew its stake in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California by 63.3% in the third quarter. IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd now owns 1,288,692 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,650,000 after acquiring an additional 499,421 shares during the period.

Pacific Biosciences of California Company Profile

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.