Pacific Biosciences of California (NASDAQ:PACB) Sets New 52-Week Low at $3.15

Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc. (NASDAQ:PACB)’s stock price reached a new 52-week low during trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $3.15 and last traded at $3.16, with a volume of 3951001 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $3.38.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on PACB. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on Pacific Biosciences of California from $9.00 to $7.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Barclays cut their target price on 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. UBS Group cut their target price on Pacific Biosciences of California from $12.50 to $12.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Pacific Biosciences of California to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $9.78.

Pacific Biosciences of California Stock Performance

The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $4.63 and a 200 day moving average price of $6.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $849.40 million, a PE ratio of -2.62 and a beta of 1.83. The company has a quick ratio of 7.21, a current ratio of 7.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.27.

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

Insider Transactions at Pacific Biosciences of California

In related news, Director David W. Meline bought 40,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $4.40 per share, for a total transaction of $176,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 40,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $176,000. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, Director David W. Meline bought 40,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $4.40 per share, for a total transaction of $176,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 40,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $176,000. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Oene Mark Van sold 33,560 shares of Pacific Biosciences of California stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the insider now owns 876,611 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,224,601.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 37,359 shares of company stock worth $218,843 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of PACB. ARK Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Pacific Biosciences of California by 15.7% in the fourth quarter. ARK Investment Management LLC now owns 34,504,273 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $338,487,000 after buying an additional 4,681,833 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Pacific Biosciences of California by 15.1% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 26,789,552 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $262,806,000 after buying an additional 3,514,792 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. raised its stake in Pacific Biosciences of California by 3.1% in the second quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 20,822,903 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $276,945,000 after buying an additional 621,003 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors raised its stake in Pacific Biosciences of California by 5.6% in the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 12,781,855 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $116,315,000 after buying an additional 675,537 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in Pacific Biosciences of California by 68.5% in the second quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 10,284,090 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $45,456,000 after buying an additional 4,179,997 shares in the last quarter.

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.