Pacific Biosciences of California (NASDAQ:PACB) Stock Price Up 18.4% – Time to Buy?

Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc. (NASDAQ:PACB)’s share price rose 18.4% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $1.85 and last traded at $1.84. Approximately 7,997,409 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 15% from the average daily volume of 9,417,850 shares. The stock had previously closed at $1.55.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PACB has been the topic of several research reports. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective 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 reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $3.50 price objective on shares of Pacific Biosciences of California in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. StockNews.com raised Pacific Biosciences of California to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. Scotiabank reduced their price target on Pacific Biosciences of California from $8.00 to $7.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their price target on shares of 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $4.50.

Pacific Biosciences of California Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 7.14, a current ratio of 8.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81. The stock has a market cap of $539.61 million, a P/E ratio of -1.32 and a beta of 2.05. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $1.62 and a 200 day moving average price of $1.85.

Pacific Biosciences of California (NASDAQ:PACB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.20) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.24) by $0.04. The business 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%. On average, analysts forecast that Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc. will post -0.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

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

Institutional Trading of Pacific Biosciences of California

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in PACB. Creative Planning grew its position in Pacific Biosciences of California by 30.8% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 32,409 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $55,000 after acquiring an additional 7,629 shares in the last quarter. Green Alpha Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California by 88.3% in the 3rd quarter. Green Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 64,213 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $109,000 after purchasing an additional 30,117 shares during the period. Mirador Capital Partners LP increased its position in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California by 263.6% during the 3rd quarter. Mirador Capital Partners LP now owns 223,212 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $379,000 after purchasing an additional 161,818 shares during the last quarter. Water Island Capital LLC lifted its position in Pacific Biosciences of California by 91.1% in the second quarter. Water Island Capital LLC now owns 20,000 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 9,537 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Algert Global LLC boosted its stake in Pacific Biosciences of California by 89.5% during the second quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 341,066 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $467,000 after buying an additional 161,066 shares during the period.

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.