Pacific Biosciences of California (NASDAQ:PACB) Downgraded by JPMorgan Chase & Co. to Neutral

JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of Pacific Biosciences of California (NASDAQ:PACB - Free Report) from an overweight rating to a neutral rating in a report issued on Monday morning, Marketbeat reports.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. TD Cowen cut their price target on Pacific Biosciences of California from $12.00 to $2.50 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Scotiabank cut their price target on Pacific Biosciences of California from $15.00 to $8.00 and set a sector outperform rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. StockNews.com upgraded Pacific Biosciences of California to a sell rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Barclays cut their target price on Pacific Biosciences of California from $8.00 to $3.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut Pacific Biosciences of California from a buy rating to a neutral rating and cut their target price for the stock from $7.00 to $2.50 in a research report on Thursday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $7.77.

Pacific Biosciences of California Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of PACB traded up $0.01 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $1.56. 8,919,089 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,830,364. The firm has a market cap of $418.01 million, a P/E ratio of -1.29 and a beta of 1.83. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $4.05 and a 200 day simple moving average of $6.54. Pacific Biosciences of California has a 52-week low of $1.25 and a 52-week high of $14.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 7.21 and a current ratio of 7.81.

Pacific Biosciences of California (NASDAQ:PACB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.27) earnings per share 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 analysts' expectations of $57.96 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($0.35) earnings per share. Pacific Biosciences of California's quarterly revenue was up 113.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Pacific Biosciences of California will post -1.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director David W. Meline purchased 40,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $4.40 per share, with a total value of $176,000.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 40,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $176,000. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, Director David W. Meline acquired 40,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $4.40 per share, for a total transaction of $176,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 40,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $176,000. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Oene Mark Van sold 33,560 shares of Pacific Biosciences of California stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 16th. The stock was 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 $5,224,601.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 37,359 shares of company stock valued at $218,843 over the last quarter. 1.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Pacific Biosciences of California in the 3rd quarter valued at $59,000. Private Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California during the 4th quarter worth $98,000. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California during the 3rd quarter worth $105,000. EMC Capital Management increased its holdings in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California by 191.6% during the 3rd quarter. EMC Capital Management now owns 15,600 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $126,000 after buying an additional 10,251 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ascension Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California during the 3rd quarter worth $132,000.

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.