Pacific Biosciences of California (NASDAQ:PACB) Shares Gap Down – What’s Next?

Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc. (NASDAQ:PACB)’s stock price gapped down prior to trading on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $2.45, but opened at $2.18. Pacific Biosciences of California shares last traded at $2.23, with a volume of 2,339,230 shares trading hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PACB has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Scotiabank lowered their target price on Pacific Biosciences of California from $8.00 to $7.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Pacific Biosciences of California from $4.00 to $2.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $3.50 price target on shares of Pacific Biosciences of California in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their price objective on Pacific Biosciences of California from $3.50 to $3.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Pacific Biosciences of California to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $4.50.

Pacific Biosciences of California Price Performance

The business has a fifty day moving average of $1.85 and a 200-day moving average of $1.75. The company has a current ratio of 8.01, a quick ratio of 7.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81. The firm has a market cap of $626.82 million, a PE ratio of -1.53 and a beta of 2.01.

Pacific Biosciences of California (NASDAQ:PACB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.20) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.24) by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $36.01 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $40.52 million. Pacific Biosciences of California had a negative net margin of 211.99% and a negative return on equity of 40.98%. As a group, research analysts predict that Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc. will post -0.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Oene Mark Van sold 38,011 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1.66, for a total transaction of $63,098.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,630,815 shares in the company, valued at $2,707,152.90. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Pacific Biosciences of California news, insider Oene Mark Van sold 38,011 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1.66, for a total value of $63,098.26. Following the sale, the insider now owns 1,630,815 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,707,152.90. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Jeff Eidel sold 26,760 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1.59, for a total value of $42,548.40. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 869,730 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,382,870.70. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 2.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Pacific Biosciences of California

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in PACB. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its stake in Pacific Biosciences of California by 100.3% in the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,167,708 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $4,379,000 after acquiring an additional 584,734 shares during the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC purchased a new position in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California in the 2nd quarter worth about $719,000. Quantbot Technologies LP increased its position in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California by 330.4% during the 1st quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 88,834 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $333,000 after purchasing an additional 68,195 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new position in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California during the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,775,000. Finally, Cetera Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Pacific Biosciences of California in the 1st quarter worth approximately $98,000.

Pacific Biosciences of California Company Profile

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.