Pacific Biosciences of California (NASDAQ:PACB) Coverage Initiated at UBS Group

Key Points

• UBS Group initiated coverage of Pacific Biosciences with a “neutral” rating and a $1.35 price target, implying approximately 5% upside from the reported $1.28 share price.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious: PACB has an average “Reduce” rating, with one Buy, three Hold, and two Sell ratings, and an average price target of $1.71.
• The company reported a quarterly loss of $0.14 per share and revenue of $39.01 million, both slightly below analyst expectations; shares were down 2.7% during the reported session.

Stock analysts at UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Pacific Biosciences of California (NASDAQ:PACB - Get Free Report) in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday. The brokerage set a "neutral" rating and a $1.35 price target on the biotechnology company's stock. UBS Group's price objective points to a potential upside of 5.06% from the stock's current price.

PACB has been the topic of a number of other reports. Weiss Ratings cut Pacific Biosciences of California from a "sell (d-)" rating to a "sell (e+)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 25th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Pacific Biosciences of California from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Pacific Biosciences of California has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $1.71.

Pacific Biosciences of California Trading Down 2.7%

PACB traded down $0.04 on Wednesday, hitting $1.28. 336,582 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,611,440. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $1.39 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $1.43. The company has a market cap of $399.42 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.03 and a beta of 2.31. Pacific Biosciences of California has a twelve month low of $1.07 and a twelve month high of $2.73.

Pacific Biosciences of California (NASDAQ:PACB - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The biotechnology company reported ($0.14) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.13) by ($0.01). Pacific Biosciences of California had a negative return on equity of 5,752.12% and a negative net margin of 82.49%.The firm had revenue of $39.01 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $42.90 million. Equities analysts expect that Pacific Biosciences of California will post -0.52 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Mark Van Oene sold 26,911 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1.13, for a total value of $30,409.43. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 2,705,853 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,057,613.89. This represents a 0.98% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. 3.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Corient Private Wealth LP acquired a new position in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California in the 2nd quarter valued at $30,000. Outlook Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Pacific Biosciences of California in the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Cibc World Markets Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California in the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Essential Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California in the first quarter valued at about $25,000. Finally, Zacks Investment Management purchased a new position in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California during the third quarter worth about $25,000.

About Pacific Biosciences of California

Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc develops, manufactures and sells high-performance DNA sequencing systems for genetic and genomic analysis. The company's proprietary single-molecule, real-time (SMRT) sequencing technology is designed to enable long-read sequencing, offering high accuracy for applications such as de novo genome assembly, transcriptome characterization and structural variation analysis. Pacific Biosciences markets a suite of instruments, including the Sequel and Sequel IIe systems, alongside reagents, consumables and data analysis software to support a range of life science research.

Founded in 2004 and headquartered in Menlo Park, California, Pacific Biosciences has expanded its global reach by serving academic institutions, biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies, and government research centers across North America, Europe and Asia.

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