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

Pacific Biosciences of California (NASDAQ:PACB) had its price objective lifted by equities research analysts at Barclays from $1.25 to $2.00 in a report issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “underweight” rating on the biotechnology company’s stock. Barclays‘s price objective would indicate a potential downside of 11.50% from the company’s current price.

PACB has been the subject of several other reports. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Pacific Biosciences of California from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 8th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Pacific Biosciences of California from a “sell (e+)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 13th. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Pacific Biosciences of California in a research report on Wednesday, September 9th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $1.35 price target on the stock. Finally, Piper Sandler reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $3.00 price target (up from $2.00) on shares of Pacific Biosciences of California in a report on Thursday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $2.09.

Pacific Biosciences of California Stock Performance

NASDAQ PACB traded down $0.17 on Thursday, reaching $2.26. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 9,531,021 shares, compared to its average volume of 15,198,901. Pacific Biosciences of California has a twelve month low of $1.07 and a twelve month high of $3.43. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $1.93 and its two-hundred day moving average is $1.62. The stock has a market cap of $702.48 million, a PE ratio of -5.38 and a beta of 2.21.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California in the second quarter worth approximately $54,330,000. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $2,265,000. Hhlr Advisors LTD. acquired a new position in Pacific Biosciences of California in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,544,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in Pacific Biosciences of California in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,290,000. Finally, Man Group plc acquired a new position in Pacific Biosciences of California in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,004,000.

Key Stories Impacting Pacific Biosciences of California

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

• Positive Sentiment: PacBio reported third-quarter revenue of $40.56 million, above the $39.31 million consensus, and a loss of $0.11 per share, narrower than the expected $0.13 loss. Coverage also highlighted clinical adoption and AI partnerships as sources of growth. Zacks Q3 results Q3 deep dive
• Positive Sentiment: Piper Sandler reaffirmed its Neutral rating but raised its price target to $3 from $2, indicating a more favorable valuation view. Piper Sandler rating
• Neutral Sentiment: The company announced CFO changes; the report provided no further detail on the transition’s expected impact. CFO changes
• Negative Sentiment: Management narrowed its 2026 revenue guidance to $155 million–$160 million. Analysts also pointed to falling gross margins and substantial cash burn, which raises concerns about the company’s financial position despite its target of cash-flow breakeven in 2028. Revenue guidance and breakeven target Q3 outlook analysis
• Negative Sentiment: Barclays lifted its price target to $2 from $1.25 but maintained an Underweight rating, signaling continued caution about the shares. Barclays rating

Pacific Biosciences of California Company Profile

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.