Scotiabank Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Pacific Biosciences of California (NASDAQ:PACB) Stock Price

Pacific Biosciences of California (NASDAQ:PACB) had its price target decreased by Scotiabank from $6.00 to $2.00 in a research note released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. Scotiabank currently has a sector outperform rating on the biotechnology company’s stock.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. StockNews.com raised Pacific Biosciences of California to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $2.50 target price on shares of Pacific Biosciences of California in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Piper Sandler restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $2.00 price target (down previously from $2.50) on shares of Pacific Biosciences of California in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on shares of Pacific Biosciences of California from $1.75 to $1.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Pacific Biosciences of California has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $2.46.

Pacific Biosciences of California Stock Down 1.5 %

PACB opened at $1.31 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $390.19 million, a P/E ratio of -0.80 and a beta of 1.86. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $1.50 and its 200 day simple moving average is $1.77. Pacific Biosciences of California has a 52 week low of $1.16 and a 52 week high of $3.89. The company has a quick ratio of 8.64, a current ratio of 9.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.97.

Pacific Biosciences of California (NASDAQ:PACB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.20) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of ($0.20). The company had revenue of $39.22 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $39.20 million. Pacific Biosciences of California had a negative net margin of 200.40% and a negative return on equity of 42.89%. During the same period last year, the company earned ($0.27) EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Pacific Biosciences of California will post -0.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Oene Mark Van sold 34,405 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $2.03, for a total value of $69,842.15. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 1,597,454 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,242,831.62. This trade represents a 2.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Michele Farmer sold 24,349 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1.88, for a total value of $45,776.12. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 187,592 shares in the company, valued at $352,672.96. This trade represents a 11.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Pacific Biosciences of California

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Intech Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California during the third quarter valued at about $190,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Pacific Biosciences of California by 4.2% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,040,303 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $3,469,000 after purchasing an additional 82,807 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its stake in Pacific Biosciences of California by 641.3% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 408,151 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $694,000 after purchasing an additional 353,092 shares in the last quarter. Paloma Partners Management Co purchased a new stake in Pacific Biosciences of California during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $63,000. Finally, Atom Investors LP acquired a new position in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $30,000.

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.