Pacific Biosciences of California (NASDAQ:PACB) Price Target Lowered to $8.00 at Scotiabank

Pacific Biosciences of California (NASDAQ:PACB) had its target price lowered by Scotiabank from $15.00 to $8.00 in a research report sent to investors on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a sector outperform rating on the biotechnology company’s stock.

PACB has been the topic of a number of other reports. UBS Group cut their price target on Pacific Biosciences of California from $12.50 to $12.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Pacific Biosciences of California from $8.00 to $3.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Pacific Biosciences of California to a sell rating in a research report on Wednesday. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on shares of Pacific Biosciences of California from $9.00 to $7.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, TD Cowen reduced their price objective on shares of Pacific Biosciences of California from $12.00 to $2.50 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $7.77.

Pacific Biosciences of California Price Performance

PACB stock opened at $1.46 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 7.81, a quick ratio of 7.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.27. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $4.25 and a 200 day simple moving average of $6.65. Pacific Biosciences of California has a 1 year low of $1.25 and a 1 year high of $14.55.

Pacific Biosciences of California (NASDAQ:PACB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.27) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.29) by $0.02. Pacific Biosciences of California had a negative net margin of 152.97% and a negative return on equity of 40.23%. The company had revenue of $58.36 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $57.96 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned ($0.35) earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 113.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Pacific Biosciences of California will post -1.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director David W. Meline acquired 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was bought at an average price of $4.40 per share, for a total transaction of $176,000.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 40,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $176,000. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, Director David W. Meline bought 40,000 shares of Pacific Biosciences of California stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $4.40 per share, for a total transaction of $176,000.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 40,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $176,000. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Oene Mark Van sold 33,560 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.96, for a total value of $200,017.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 876,611 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,224,601.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 37,359 shares of company stock worth $218,843. Corporate insiders own 1.90% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Pacific Biosciences of California

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Fairfield Bush & CO. bought a new stake in Pacific Biosciences of California during the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Captrust Financial Advisors increased its position in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California by 217.2% during the second quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 6,163 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 4,220 shares in the last quarter. Comerica Bank bought a new stake in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California during the third quarter worth about $46,000. KBC Group NV acquired a new stake in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California in the 4th quarter worth about $53,000. Finally, Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Pacific Biosciences of California in the 3rd quarter valued at about $59,000.

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.