Pacific Biosciences of California (NASDAQ:PACB) Hits New 52-Week Low at $3.42

Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc. (NASDAQ:PACB - Get Free Report) shares reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $3.42 and last traded at $3.49, with a volume of 915015 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $3.65.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group reduced their target price on Pacific Biosciences of California from $12.50 to $12.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 16th. Guggenheim assumed coverage on Pacific Biosciences of California in a research report on Thursday, December 14th. They set a "neutral" rating for the company. StockNews.com upgraded Pacific Biosciences of California to a "sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 20th. Stephens assumed coverage on Pacific Biosciences of California in a research report on Thursday, December 14th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $11.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Wolfe Research began coverage on Pacific Biosciences of California in a research report on Wednesday, December 13th. They set a "peer perform" rating for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Pacific Biosciences of California currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $11.56.

Pacific Biosciences of California Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $913.71 million, a P/E ratio of -2.80 and a beta of 1.83. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $5.27 and a 200-day simple moving average of $7.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 7.81 and a quick ratio of 7.21.

Pacific Biosciences of California (NASDAQ:PACB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 15th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.27) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.29) by $0.02. Pacific Biosciences of California had a negative return on equity of 40.23% and a negative net margin of 152.97%. The company had revenue of $58.36 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $57.96 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($0.35) EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 113.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc. will post -1.01 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Pacific Biosciences of California

In other Pacific Biosciences of California news, Director David W. Meline bought 40,000 shares of Pacific Biosciences of California stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $4.40 per share, for a total transaction of $176,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 40,000 shares in the company, valued at $176,000. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, Director David W. Meline purchased 40,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was bought at an average price of $4.40 per share, for a total transaction of $176,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 40,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $176,000. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Oene Mark Van sold 33,560 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.96, for a total value of $200,017.60. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 876,611 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,224,601.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 68,371 shares of company stock worth $459,806. 1.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Pacific Biosciences of California

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. ARK Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Pacific Biosciences of California by 15.7% in the fourth quarter. ARK Investment Management LLC now owns 34,504,273 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $338,487,000 after buying an additional 4,681,833 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California by 15.1% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 26,789,552 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $262,806,000 after purchasing an additional 3,514,792 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. increased its position in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California by 3.1% during the second quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 20,822,903 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $276,945,000 after purchasing an additional 621,003 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors grew its holdings in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California by 5.6% during the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 12,781,855 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $116,315,000 after buying an additional 675,537 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California by 68.5% during the second quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 10,284,090 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $45,456,000 after buying an additional 4,179,997 shares during the last quarter.

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.