Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc. (NASDAQ:PACB) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc. (NASDAQ:PACB) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twelve research firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $2.95.

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group downgraded shares of Pacific Biosciences of California from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $2.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Scotiabank dropped their target price on shares of Pacific Biosciences of California from $7.00 to $6.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 11th. StockNews.com raised shares of Pacific Biosciences of California to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of Pacific Biosciences of California from $2.00 to $2.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th.

Pacific Biosciences of California Stock Performance

Pacific Biosciences of California stock opened at $1.81 on Thursday. Pacific Biosciences of California has a 12-month low of $1.16 and a 12-month high of $7.50. The company has a market capitalization of $495.69 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.24 and a beta of 1.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.97, a current ratio of 9.74 and a quick ratio of 8.64. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $1.89 and its 200 day moving average price is $1.82.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Oene Mark Van sold 34,405 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $2.03, for a total value of $69,842.15. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,597,454 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,242,831.62. This represents a 2.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 2.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Pacific Biosciences of California

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Rhumbline Advisers increased its position in Pacific Biosciences of California by 13.4% in the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 436,868 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $598,000 after acquiring an additional 51,727 shares in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its position in Pacific Biosciences of California by 71.2% in the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 79,122 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $106,000 after acquiring an additional 32,899 shares in the last quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. increased its position in Pacific Biosciences of California by 5,755.9% in the 2nd quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 141,830 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $194,000 after acquiring an additional 139,408 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a new stake in Pacific Biosciences of California in the 2nd quarter valued at about $93,000. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP increased its position in 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 valued at $2,207,000 after acquiring an additional 1,117,966 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.