Pacific Biosciences of California (NASDAQ:PACB) Given “Neutral” Rating at Piper Sandler

Pacific Biosciences of California (NASDAQ:PACB)‘s stock had its “neutral” rating reissued by equities researchers at Piper Sandler in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $3.00 price target on the biotechnology company’s stock, up from their previous price target of $2.00. Piper Sandler‘s price objective suggests a potential upside of 18.34% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on PACB. UBS Group began coverage on Pacific Biosciences of California in a research note on Wednesday, September 9th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $1.35 target price for the company. Wall Street Zen cut Pacific Biosciences of California from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Pacific Biosciences of California from a “sell (e+)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Pacific Biosciences of California currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $1.96.

Pacific Biosciences of California Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of NASDAQ PACB traded down $0.01 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $2.54. The stock had a trading volume of 11,658,444 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,296,380. The company has a market capitalization of $787.95 million, a PE ratio of -5.92 and a beta of 2.21. Pacific Biosciences of California has a 1 year low of $1.07 and a 1 year high of $3.43. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $1.89 and a 200-day simple moving average of $1.62.

Pacific Biosciences of California (NASDAQ:PACB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 4th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.11) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.13) by $0.02. Pacific Biosciences of California had a negative return on equity of 5,752.12% and a negative net margin of 82.49%. The firm had revenue of $40.56 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $39.31 million. As a group, analysts expect that Pacific Biosciences of California will post -0.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Mark Van Oene sold 26,911 shares of Pacific Biosciences of California stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1.13, for a total value of $30,409.43. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 2,705,853 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,057,613.89. The trade was a 0.98% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, insider James R. Gibson II sold 661,815 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.11, for a total value of $2,058,244.65. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 1,083,848 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,370,767.28. This trade represents a 37.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 3.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Pacific Biosciences of California

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Essential Partners LLC bought a new position in Pacific Biosciences of California during the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Choreo LLC purchased a new position in Pacific Biosciences of California during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Interchange Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in Pacific Biosciences of California during the third quarter valued at $28,000. Corient Private Wealth LP purchased a new stake in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California in the second quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Pinegrove Venture Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California during the 2nd quarter valued at $34,584.

Key Pacific Biosciences of California News

Here are the key news stories impacting Pacific Biosciences of California this week:

• Positive Sentiment: For Q3 2026, PacBio reported a loss of $0.11 per share, better than the $0.13 loss analysts expected, while revenue of $40.56 million exceeded the $39.31 million consensus estimate. Zacks Q3 earnings report
• Positive Sentiment: A Q3 analysis pointed to clinical adoption and AI partnerships as contributors to steady growth, suggesting potential longer-term demand opportunities. Q3 clinical adoption and AI partnerships analysis
• Neutral Sentiment: PacBio narrowed its 2026 revenue guidance to $155 million–$160 million. A tighter range provides an updated outlook, but the article does not specify whether it represents a change in expected performance. Revenue guidance and cash-flow target
• Negative Sentiment: The company still posted a quarterly loss, and management is targeting cash-flow breakeven only in 2028, underscoring the time and execution required to reach sustainable finances. Cash-flow breakeven outlook

About Pacific Biosciences of California

Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc (NASDAQ: PACB) is a life sciences technology company that develops and supplies DNA sequencing systems, consumables and related software. The company is best known for its single-molecule, real-time (SMRT) sequencing technology, which produces highly accurate long-read data used to analyze complex genomes, structural variation, genetic disease and other biological information.

PacBio’s product portfolio includes the Revio long-read sequencing system, the Sequel II and Sequel IIe platforms, sequencing consumables and the associated data-analysis software.