Pacific Biosciences of California (NASDAQ:PACB) Price Target Cut to $2.70 by Analysts at UBS Group

Key Points

• UBS cut its PACB price target from $3.05 to $2.70 and maintained a neutral rating; the new target implies 14.41% upside from the prior close.
• Analyst views remain cautious overall: MarketBeat reports a consensus “Reduce” rating and an average price target of $2.42, with one Buy, three Hold, and two Sell ratings.
• PacBio beat quarterly estimates, reporting a loss of $0.11 per share versus expectations of $0.13 and revenue of $40.56 million versus $39.31 million; the company nevertheless reported an 81.31% negative net margin.

Pacific Biosciences of California (NASDAQ:PACB - Get Free Report) had its price objective reduced by research analysts at UBS Group from $3.05 to $2.70 in a research note issued on Monday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a "neutral" rating on the biotechnology company's stock. UBS Group's price target would suggest a potential upside of 14.41% from the company's previous close.

Several other research analysts also recently issued reports on PACB. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Pacific Biosciences of California from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday. Barclays upped their price objective on Pacific Biosciences of California from $1.25 to $2.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Thursday. Piper Sandler reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $3.00 price objective (up from $2.00) on shares of Pacific Biosciences of California in a report on Thursday. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Pacific Biosciences of California from a "sell (e+)" rating to a "sell (d-)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $2.42.

Pacific Biosciences of California Price Performance

PACB traded up $0.10 on Monday, reaching $2.36. 11,836,650 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,358,865. The company has a market cap of $733.56 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.62 and a beta of 2.21. Pacific Biosciences of California has a 52-week low of $1.07 and a 52-week high of $3.43. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $1.93 and its 200-day moving average price is $1.62.

Pacific Biosciences of California (NASDAQ:PACB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.11) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.13) by $0.02. Pacific Biosciences of California had a negative net margin of 81.31% and a negative return on equity of 5,752.12%. The business had revenue of $40.56 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $39.31 million. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Pacific Biosciences of California will post -0.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Mark Van Oene sold 26,911 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1.13, for a total transaction of $30,409.43. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 2,705,853 shares in the company, valued at $3,057,613.89. This represents a 0.98% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, insider James Gibson, II sold 661,815 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.11, for a total value of $2,058,244.65. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 1,083,848 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,370,767.28. This trade represents a 37.91% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 3.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Pacific Biosciences of California

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of PACB. Carret Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Pacific Biosciences of California by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Carret Asset Management LLC now owns 607,140 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $1,439,000 after acquiring an additional 7,000 shares in the last quarter. StoneX Group Inc. bought a new stake in Pacific Biosciences of California during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Pacific Biosciences of California during the third quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Choreo LLC purchased a new stake in Pacific Biosciences of California in the third quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, Interchange Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in Pacific Biosciences of California during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000.

Pacific Biosciences of California Company Profile

Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc NASDAQ: PACB is a life sciences technology company that develops and supplies DNA sequencing systems, consumables and related software. The company is best known for its single-molecule, real-time (SMRT) sequencing technology, which produces highly accurate long-read data used to analyze complex genomes, structural variation, genetic disease and other biological information.

PacBio's product portfolio includes the Revio long-read sequencing system, the Sequel II and Sequel IIe platforms, sequencing consumables and the associated data-analysis software.

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