Pacific Biosciences of California (NASDAQ:PACB) Shares Gap Down to $2.04

Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc. (NASDAQ:PACB) gapped down prior to trading on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $2.04, but opened at $1.98. Pacific Biosciences of California shares last traded at $1.99, with a volume of 932,499 shares traded.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on PACB. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Pacific Biosciences of California in a research note on Monday, June 3rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $4.00 target price on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered 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 report on Thursday, August 8th. Scotiabank cut their target price on Pacific Biosciences of California from $8.00 to $7.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $3.50 price target on shares of Pacific Biosciences of California in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Pacific Biosciences of California to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $4.50.

Pacific Biosciences of California Stock Down 6.9 %

The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $1.68 and its 200 day simple moving average is $2.13. 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 capitalization of $517.48 million, a PE ratio of -1.70 and a beta of 2.03.

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

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Oene Mark Van sold 38,011 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1.66, for a total value of $63,098.26. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 1,630,815 shares in the company, valued at $2,707,152.90. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, insider Oene Mark Van sold 38,011 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1.66, for a total transaction of $63,098.26. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,630,815 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,707,152.90. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Jeff Eidel sold 26,760 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1.59, for a total transaction of $42,548.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 869,730 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,382,870.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in Pacific Biosciences of California in the 1st quarter valued at about $32,000. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S purchased a new stake in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California in the first quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Quest Partners LLC bought a new position in Pacific Biosciences of California in the fourth quarter worth approximately $168,000. Kennedy Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Pacific Biosciences of California during the 1st quarter worth $64,000. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new position in Pacific Biosciences of California during the 4th quarter worth $177,000.

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.