Pacific Biosciences of California (NASDAQ:PACB) Shares Gap Down to $2.04

Shares of Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc. (NASDAQ:PACB) gapped down prior to trading on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $2.04, but opened at $1.98. Pacific Biosciences of California shares last traded at $1.99, with a volume of 932,499 shares trading hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $3.50 target price on shares of Pacific Biosciences of California in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Pacific Biosciences of California in a research note on Monday, June 3rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $4.00 price objective on the stock. Scotiabank cut their price objective on shares of Pacific Biosciences of California from $8.00 to $7.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their target price on 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. Finally, StockNews.com raised Pacific Biosciences of California to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Pacific Biosciences of California presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $4.50.

Pacific Biosciences of California Price Performance

The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $1.68 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $2.13. The company has a current ratio of 8.01, a quick ratio of 7.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81. The stock has a market cap of $517.48 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.70 and a beta of 2.03.

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, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.24) by $0.04. Pacific Biosciences of California had a negative return on equity of 40.98% and a negative net margin of 211.99%. The business had revenue of $36.01 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $40.52 million. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc. will post -0.95 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Pacific Biosciences of California news, insider Oene Mark Van sold 38,011 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 approximately $2,707,152.90. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Pacific Biosciences of California news, insider Oene Mark Van sold 38,011 shares of Pacific Biosciences of California 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,707,152.90. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jeff Eidel sold 26,760 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1.59, for a total value of $42,548.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 869,730 shares in the company, valued at $1,382,870.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Pacific Biosciences of California

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of PACB. Water Island Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California by 91.1% in the 2nd quarter. Water Island Capital LLC now owns 20,000 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 9,537 shares during the period. Simplicity Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Pacific Biosciences of California during the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in Pacific Biosciences of California in the first quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Pacific Biosciences of California in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S purchased a new stake in Pacific Biosciences of California in the 1st quarter worth approximately $38,000.

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.