Pacific Biosciences of California (NASDAQ:PACB) Price Target Cut to $8.00

Pacific Biosciences of California (NASDAQ:PACB) had its target price cut by equities researchers at Scotiabank from $15.00 to $8.00 in a report issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “sector outperform” rating on the biotechnology company’s stock. Scotiabank’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 471.43% from the company’s current price.

Several other research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Pacific Biosciences of California to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Pacific Biosciences of California from $8.00 to $3.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Pacific Biosciences of California from $12.50 to $12.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 16th. TD Cowen lowered their price target on shares of Pacific Biosciences of California from $12.00 to $2.50 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on shares of 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Pacific Biosciences of California has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $8.55.

Pacific Biosciences of California Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PACB opened at $1.40 on Thursday. Pacific Biosciences of California has a 52-week low of $1.25 and a 52-week high of $14.55. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $4.36 and a 200 day moving average of $6.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $375.13 million, a PE ratio of -1.16 and a beta of 1.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 7.21 and a current ratio of 7.81.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director David W. Meline purchased 40,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $4.40 per share, with a total value of $176,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 40,000 shares in the company, valued at $176,000. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, Director David W. Meline purchased 40,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $4.40 per share, for a total transaction of $176,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 40,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $176,000. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Oene Mark Van sold 33,560 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.96, for a total transaction of $200,017.60. Following the sale, the insider now owns 876,611 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,224,601.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 37,359 shares of company stock valued at $218,843 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Pacific Biosciences of California

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PACB. Fairfield Bush & CO. purchased a new stake in Pacific Biosciences of California in the second quarter worth approximately $27,000. Captrust Financial Advisors boosted its holdings in Pacific Biosciences of California by 217.2% in the second quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 6,163 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 4,220 shares during the last quarter. Comerica Bank purchased a new stake in Pacific Biosciences of California in the third quarter worth approximately $46,000. KBC Group NV purchased a new stake in Pacific Biosciences of California in the fourth quarter worth approximately $53,000. Finally, Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Pacific Biosciences of California in the third quarter worth approximately $59,000.

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.