Pacific Biosciences of California (NASDAQ:PACB) Cut to Hold at Zacks Research

Zacks Research cut shares of Pacific Biosciences of California (NASDAQ:PACB) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a report published on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

PACB has been the topic of several other reports. Barclays dropped their price target on Pacific Biosciences of California from $1.50 to $1.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Pacific Biosciences of California in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Pacific Biosciences of California currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $1.67.

Pacific Biosciences of California Stock Down 1.2%

NASDAQ:PACB opened at $1.71 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $516.42 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.93 and a beta of 2.33. Pacific Biosciences of California has a 1-year low of $0.85 and a 1-year high of $2.73. The company has a current ratio of 5.15, a quick ratio of 4.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 120.65. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $1.49 and its 200 day moving average price is $1.83.

Pacific Biosciences of California (NASDAQ:PACB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.12) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.19) by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $44.65 million for 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%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Pacific Biosciences of California will post -0.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Pacific Biosciences of California

In other Pacific Biosciences of California news, 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 transaction, the insider owned 234,044 shares in the company, valued at $369,789.52. The trade was a 13.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Oene Mark Van sold 129,790 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1.58, for a total value of $205,068.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 1,797,745 shares in the company, valued at $2,840,437.10. This trade represents a 6.73% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 729,711 shares of company stock worth $1,161,951 over the last 90 days. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of PACB. Zacks Investment Management purchased a new position in Pacific Biosciences of California in the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd grew its stake in Pacific Biosciences of California by 891.1% in the third quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 22,776 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 20,478 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. purchased a new position in Pacific Biosciences of California in the third quarter valued at about $29,000. Outlook Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Pacific Biosciences of California in the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Cibc World Markets Corp bought a new stake in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California during the 4th quarter worth about $34,000.

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.