StockNews.com Upgrades Pacific Biosciences of California (NASDAQ:PACB) to “Sell”

Pacific Biosciences of California (NASDAQ:PACB) was upgraded by research analysts at StockNews.com to a “sell” rating in a research note issued on Wednesday.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Barclays dropped their price objective on Pacific Biosciences of California from $8.00 to $3.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on Pacific Biosciences of California from $9.00 to $7.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Pacific Biosciences of California from $12.50 to $12.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 16th. Finally, TD Cowen dropped their price objective on shares of Pacific Biosciences of California from $12.00 to $2.50 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. One 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $7.77.

Pacific Biosciences of California Trading Up 4.3 %

Shares of Pacific Biosciences of California stock opened at $1.46 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $391.21 million, a PE ratio of -1.21 and a beta of 1.83. Pacific Biosciences of California has a 1 year low of $1.25 and a 1 year high of $14.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 7.81 and a quick ratio of 7.21. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $4.25 and a 200-day moving average price of $6.65.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Oene Mark Van sold 33,560 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 876,611 shares in the company, valued at $5,224,601.56. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, Director David W. Meline bought 40,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $4.40 per share, for a total transaction 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Oene Mark Van sold 33,560 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.96, for a total transaction of $200,017.60. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 quarter, insiders have sold 37,359 shares of company stock worth $218,843. Corporate insiders own 1.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Pacific Biosciences of California

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Ambassador Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Pacific Biosciences of California by 5.6% during the second quarter. Ambassador Advisors LLC now owns 19,000 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $219,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. Amalgamated Bank lifted its position in Pacific Biosciences of California by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 29,945 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $245,000 after buying an additional 1,057 shares during the last quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. lifted its position in Pacific Biosciences of California by 6.6% in the 1st quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 17,212 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $77,000 after buying an additional 1,060 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Pacific Biosciences of California by 5.3% in the first quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 24,606 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $285,000 after buying an additional 1,238 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc grew its position in Pacific Biosciences of California by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 236,272 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $2,318,000 after acquiring an additional 1,909 shares during 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.