Brokerages Set Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc. (NASDAQ:PACB) Price Target at $7.77

Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc. (NASDAQ:PACB) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the fifteen analysts that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $7.77.

Several analysts have weighed in on PACB shares. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Pacific Biosciences of California from $8.00 to $3.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of Pacific Biosciences of California from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $7.00 to $2.50 in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Pacific Biosciences of California from $12.50 to $12.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their price target on shares of Pacific Biosciences of California from $9.00 to $2.50 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, Scotiabank reduced their price target on shares of Pacific Biosciences of California from $15.00 to $8.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 18th.

Pacific Biosciences of California Stock Up 1.5 %

PACB opened at $1.38 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $3.75 and a 200-day moving average price of $6.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $369.77 million, a P/E ratio of -1.14 and a beta of 1.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 7.81 and a quick ratio of 7.21. Pacific Biosciences of California has a one year low of $1.25 and a one year high of $14.55.

Pacific Biosciences of California (NASDAQ:PACB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 15th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.27) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 previous year, the firm posted ($0.35) EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 113.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Pacific Biosciences of California will post -1.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Oene Mark Van sold 33,560 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.96, for a total transaction of $200,017.60. Following the sale, the insider now owns 876,611 shares in the company, valued at $5,224,601.56. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Pacific Biosciences of California news, Director David W. Meline purchased 40,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $4.40 per share, for a total transaction of $176,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 40,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $176,000. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Oene Mark Van sold 33,560 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.96, for a total transaction of $200,017.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 876,611 shares in the company, valued at $5,224,601.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 37,359 shares of company stock worth $218,843 over the last 90 days. 1.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Interchange Capital Partners LLC raised its position in Pacific Biosciences of California by 11.9% in the fourth quarter. Interchange Capital Partners LLC now owns 18,709 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $184,000 after acquiring an additional 1,991 shares during the period. Private Advisor Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California by 11.4% in the third quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 19,740 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $165,000 after purchasing an additional 2,027 shares in the last quarter. AtonRa Partners increased its stake in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California by 4.0% in the third quarter. AtonRa Partners now owns 65,082 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $543,000 after purchasing an additional 2,504 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its stake in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 582,974 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $5,719,000 after purchasing an additional 2,832 shares in the last quarter. Finally, China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California by 18.4% in the third quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 20,227 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $169,000 after purchasing an additional 3,149 shares in the last quarter.

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.