Pacific Biosciences of California (NASDAQ:PACB) Stock Price Down 4.8% – Should You Sell?

Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc. (NASDAQ:PACB)’s stock price was down 4.8% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $1.99 and last traded at $2.00. Approximately 1,328,897 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 86% from the average daily volume of 9,468,121 shares. The stock had previously closed at $2.10.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on PACB shares. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their price target on shares of Pacific Biosciences of California from $3.50 to $3.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $3.50 price target on shares of Pacific Biosciences of California in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Pacific Biosciences of California from $4.00 to $2.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 12th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Pacific Biosciences of California to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. Finally, Scotiabank lowered their price target on shares of 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $4.50.

Pacific Biosciences of California Stock Down 7.8 %

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 firm has a market cap of $517.48 million, a P/E ratio of -1.67 and a beta of 2.05. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $1.65 and its 200 day simple moving average is $1.82.

Pacific Biosciences of California (NASDAQ:PACB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.20) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.24) by $0.04. The business had revenue of $36.01 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc. will post -0.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Pacific Biosciences of California

In other Pacific Biosciences of California news, insider Jeff Eidel sold 26,760 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1.59, for a total transaction of $42,548.40. Following the sale, the insider now owns 869,730 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,382,870.70. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Jeff Eidel sold 26,760 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1.59, for a total transaction of $42,548.40. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 869,730 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,382,870.70. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, 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 owns 1,630,815 shares in the company, valued at $2,707,152.90. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.90% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Pacific Biosciences of California

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California by 15.1% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 26,789,552 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $262,806,000 after purchasing an additional 3,514,792 shares during the period. Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. raised its holdings in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California by 955.5% in the 1st quarter. Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. now owns 10,507,287 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $39,402,000 after acquiring an additional 9,511,787 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP raised its holdings in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California by 226.6% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,611,300 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $2,207,000 after acquiring an additional 1,117,966 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California by 44.1% in the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 1,335,862 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $5,009,000 after acquiring an additional 408,874 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California in the 2nd quarter worth about $1,775,000.

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.