Barclays Lowers Pacific Biosciences of California (NASDAQ:PACB) Price Target to $1.00

Key Points

• Barclays cut its price target on Pacific Biosciences to $1.00 (from $1.50) and rates the stock "underweight," implying about a 35.9% downside from the current price.
• Pacific Biosciences remains unprofitable despite a slight quarterly beat (EPS -$0.12 vs. -$0.19) and reported severe metrics including a negative ROE of 326.43%, a net margin of -341.47%, and a debt-to-equity ratio of 120.65.
• Insiders have been net sellers recently — 729,711 shares sold in the last 90 days — leaving insiders with just 2.40% ownership, which may concern investors alongside mixed analyst ratings and a consensus "Hold."

Pacific Biosciences of California (NASDAQ:PACB - Get Free Report) had its price objective lowered by Barclays from $1.50 to $1.00 in a research report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an "underweight" rating on the biotechnology company's stock. Barclays's price target indicates a potential downside of 35.90% from the stock's current price.

PACB has been the subject of several other research reports. Zacks Research raised Pacific Biosciences of California from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (e+)" rating on shares of Pacific Biosciences of California in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $1.67.

Pacific Biosciences of California Price Performance

PACB traded up $0.11 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $1.56. The stock had a trading volume of 6,329,697 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,872,695. The company has a market cap of $471.12 million, a P/E ratio of -0.85 and a beta of 2.33. The business has a fifty day moving average of $1.52 and a 200 day moving average of $1.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 120.65, a quick ratio of 4.47 and a current ratio of 5.15. Pacific Biosciences of California has a 1 year low of $0.85 and a 1 year high of $2.73.

Pacific Biosciences of California (NASDAQ:PACB - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.12) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.19) by $0.07. The business had revenue of $44.65 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $44.60 million. Pacific Biosciences of California had a negative return on equity of 326.43% and a negative net margin of 341.47%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Pacific Biosciences of California will post -0.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Pacific Biosciences of California

In other Pacific Biosciences of California news, insider Oene Mark Van sold 55,107 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1.63, for a total value of $89,824.41. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 1,742,638 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,840,499.94. The trade was a 3.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Christian O. Henry sold 140,874 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1.63, for a total value of $229,624.62. Following the transaction, the insider owned 2,673,500 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,357,805. This represents a 5.01% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 729,711 shares of company stock worth $1,161,951. 2.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Pacific Biosciences of California

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in PACB. Zacks Investment Management bought a new position in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California during the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California by 891.1% during the third quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 22,776 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 20,478 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California during the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Outlook Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Cibc World Markets Corp bought a new position in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000.

Pacific Biosciences of California Company Profile

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.