Pacific Biosciences of California (NASDAQ:PACB) Stock Rating Lowered by The Goldman Sachs Group

Pacific Biosciences of California (NASDAQ:PACB) was downgraded by equities researchers at The Goldman Sachs Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report issued on Thursday, MarketBeat.com reports. They currently have a $2.50 price target on the biotechnology company’s stock, down from their previous price target of $7.00. The Goldman Sachs Group’s target price would suggest a potential upside of 61.29% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on PACB. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Pacific Biosciences of California from $12.50 to $12.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Barclays reduced their target price 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. Scotiabank reduced their target price on Pacific Biosciences of California from $15.00 to $8.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. StockNews.com raised Pacific Biosciences of California to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, TD Cowen reduced their target price on Pacific Biosciences of California from $12.00 to $2.50 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $7.77.

Pacific Biosciences of California Stock Performance

PACB stock opened at $1.55 on Thursday. Pacific Biosciences of California has a twelve month low of $1.25 and a twelve month high of $14.55. 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 business has a 50 day moving average of $4.15 and a 200 day moving average of $6.61.

Pacific Biosciences of California (NASDAQ:PACB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 15th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.27) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.29) by $0.02. Pacific Biosciences of California had a negative return on equity of 40.23% and a negative net margin of 152.97%. The company had revenue of $58.36 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $57.96 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($0.35) EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 113.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Pacific Biosciences of California will post -1.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Oene Mark Van sold 33,560 shares of Pacific Biosciences of California stock in a transaction on Friday, February 16th. The stock was 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 owns 876,611 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,224,601.56. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Oene Mark Van sold 33,560 shares of Pacific Biosciences of California 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 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director David W. Meline bought 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were bought at an average price 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $176,000. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold 37,359 shares of company stock valued at $218,843 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.90% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Pacific Biosciences of California

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California by 190.5% in the second quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 8,438,572 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $37,299,000 after acquiring an additional 5,533,953 shares in the last quarter. ARK Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California by 15.7% in the fourth quarter. ARK Investment Management LLC now owns 34,504,273 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $338,487,000 after acquiring an additional 4,681,833 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California by 68.5% in the second quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 10,284,090 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $45,456,000 after acquiring an additional 4,179,997 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California by 15.1% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 26,789,552 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $262,806,000 after acquiring an additional 3,514,792 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bellevue Group AG lifted its position in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California by 214.3% in the first quarter. Bellevue Group AG now owns 4,881,752 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $44,424,000 after acquiring an additional 3,328,729 shares in the last quarter.

Pacific Biosciences of California Company Profile

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.