Pacific Biosciences of California (NASDAQ:PACB) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Barclays Analyst Says

Pacific Biosciences of California (NASDAQ:PACB) had its price objective hoisted by Barclays from $1.00 to $1.50 in a research report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “underweight” rating on the biotechnology company’s stock. Barclays‘s target price would indicate a potential upside of 8.30% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other equities analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Pacific Biosciences of California in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Zacks Research lowered Pacific Biosciences of California from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $1.83.

Pacific Biosciences of California Trading Down 1.8%

Shares of PACB traded down $0.03 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $1.39. 954,320 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,716,285. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $1.48 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $1.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 120.65, a quick ratio of 4.47 and a current ratio of 5.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $430.03 million, a PE ratio of -3.22 and a beta of 2.40. Pacific Biosciences of California has a 52 week low of $0.85 and a 52 week high of $2.73.

Pacific Biosciences of California (NASDAQ:PACB) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.12) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.17) by $0.05. The business had revenue of $37.18 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $39.94 million. Pacific Biosciences of California had a negative net margin of 80.35% and a negative return on equity of 438.14%. On average, analysts predict that Pacific Biosciences of California will post -0.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Christian O. Henry sold 331,793 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1.58, for a total value of $524,232.94. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 2,814,374 shares in the company, valued at $4,446,710.92. This trade represents a 10.55% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Michele Farmer sold 35,215 shares of Pacific Biosciences of California stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1.58, for a total transaction of $55,639.70. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 234,044 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $369,789.52. The trade was a 13.08% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders have sold 729,711 shares of company stock valued at $1,161,951. 2.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in PACB. Creative Planning raised its holdings in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California by 245.9% in the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 175,690 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $218,000 after acquiring an additional 124,893 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its stake in Pacific Biosciences of California by 10.1% during the 2nd quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 104,725 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $130,000 after purchasing an additional 9,617 shares during the last quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. increased its holdings in Pacific Biosciences of California by 73.0% during the 2nd quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 35,684 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 15,062 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California by 60.0% in the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 839,340 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,041,000 after purchasing an additional 314,697 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HUB Investment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California in the second quarter worth approximately $77,000.

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.