Pacific Biosciences of California (NASDAQ:PACB) Shares Gap Up to $3.35

Shares of Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc. (NASDAQ:PACB - Get Free Report) gapped up before the market opened on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $3.35, but opened at $3.57. Pacific Biosciences of California shares last traded at $3.52, with a volume of 907,152 shares changing hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on PACB shares. Stephens started coverage on Pacific Biosciences of California in a report on Thursday, December 14th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $11.00 target price for the company. Guggenheim assumed coverage on Pacific Biosciences of California in a report on Thursday, December 14th. They set a "neutral" rating for the company. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Pacific Biosciences of California in a research report on Wednesday, December 13th. They set a "peer perform" rating for the company. StockNews.com upgraded Pacific Biosciences of California to a "sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 20th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price target on Pacific Biosciences of California from $12.50 to $12.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $11.56.

Pacific Biosciences of California Stock Up 3.0 %

The stock has a 50-day moving average of $4.98 and a two-hundred day moving average of $7.00. The company has a market cap of $924.43 million, a P/E ratio of -2.88 and a beta of 1.83. 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 released its earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.27) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.29) by $0.02. The company had revenue of $58.36 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $57.96 million. Pacific Biosciences of California had a negative return on equity of 40.23% and a negative net margin of 152.97%. Pacific Biosciences of California's quarterly revenue was up 113.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($0.35) EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc. will post -1.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director David W. Meline acquired 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was purchased 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $176,000. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, Director David W. Meline acquired 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was purchased 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $176,000. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 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 completion of the sale, 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. Insiders sold 68,371 shares of company stock worth $459,806 in the last quarter. 1.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Pacific Biosciences of California

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in PACB. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California by 190.5% during the second quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 8,438,572 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $37,299,000 after buying an additional 5,533,953 shares during the period. ARK Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California by 15.7% during the fourth quarter. ARK Investment Management LLC now owns 34,504,273 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $338,487,000 after buying an additional 4,681,833 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake 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 period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake 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 valued at $262,806,000 after buying an additional 3,514,792 shares during the period. Finally, Bellevue Group AG increased its stake in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California by 214.3% during the first quarter. Bellevue Group AG now owns 4,881,752 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $44,424,000 after buying an additional 3,328,729 shares during the period.

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.