Pacific Biosciences of California (NASDAQ:PACB) Rating Lowered to “Hold” at Zacks Research

Pacific Biosciences of California (NASDAQ:PACB) was downgraded by investment analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a note issued to investors on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

PACB has been the topic of several other research reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Pacific Biosciences of California in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of 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. One 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. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $1.67.

Pacific Biosciences of California Trading Down 2.0%

Shares of PACB stock traded down $0.04 during trading on Monday, hitting $1.70. 1,663,468 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,752,683. The firm has a market capitalization of $511.89 million, a P/E ratio of -0.92 and a beta of 2.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 120.65, a current ratio of 5.15 and a quick ratio of 4.47. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $1.50 and its 200-day moving average price is $1.83. 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 quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.12) EPS 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 net margin of 341.47% and a negative return on equity of 326.43%. As a group, research 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 Christian O. Henry sold 140,874 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1.63, for a total value of $229,624.62. Following the sale, the insider owned 2,673,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,357,805. The trade was a 5.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Oene Mark Van sold 55,107 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1.63, for a total value of $89,824.41. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 1,742,638 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,840,499.94. The trade was a 3.07% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 729,711 shares of company stock valued at $1,161,951 over the last quarter. 2.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Pacific Biosciences of California

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AdvisorNet Financial Inc grew its stake in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California by 6.2% during the first quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 142,057 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $188,000 after purchasing an additional 8,290 shares in the last quarter. Kavar Capital Partners Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California during the first quarter worth $123,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC acquired a new position in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California during the fourth quarter worth $98,000. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California by 29.5% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,433,011 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $2,680,000 after purchasing an additional 326,238 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV grew its stake in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California by 47.9% during the fourth quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 20,663 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 6,695 shares in the last quarter.

About Pacific Biosciences of California

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.