Sanford C. Bernstein Trims Pacific Biosciences of California (NASDAQ:PACB) Target Price to $2.50

Pacific Biosciences of California (NASDAQ:PACB - Free Report) had its price objective reduced by Sanford C. Bernstein from $9.00 to $2.50 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the biotechnology company's stock.

A number of other research firms also recently commented on PACB. Scotiabank decreased their price target on Pacific Biosciences of California from $15.00 to $8.00 and set a sector outperform rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. UBS Group decreased 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 note on Friday, February 16th. StockNews.com upgraded Pacific Biosciences of California to a sell rating in a research note on Wednesday. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded Pacific Biosciences of California from a buy rating to a neutral rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $7.00 to $2.50 in a research note on Thursday. Finally, TD Cowen decreased their target price on Pacific Biosciences of California from $12.00 to $2.50 and set a buy rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Pacific Biosciences of California presently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $7.77.

Pacific Biosciences of California Stock Up 4.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ PACB traded up $0.06 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $1.46. 18,737,288 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,748,603. Pacific Biosciences of California has a 52-week low of $1.25 and a 52-week high of $14.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $391.21 million, a PE ratio of -1.19 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. The business's fifty day moving average price is $4.36 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $6.69.

Pacific Biosciences of California (NASDAQ:PACB - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.27) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 business 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 earned ($0.35) earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 113.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Pacific Biosciences of California will post -1.01 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, 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 transaction of $200,017.60. Following the sale, the insider now owns 876,611 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,224,601.56. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, 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 transaction of $200,017.60. Following the sale, the insider now owns 876,611 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,224,601.56. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director David W. Meline purchased 40,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $4.40 per share, for a total transaction of $176,000.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 40,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $176,000. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 37,359 shares of company stock valued at $218,843. Insiders own 1.90% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Pacific Biosciences of California

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. ARK Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in 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 worth $338,487,000 after purchasing an additional 4,681,833 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in 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. raised its holdings in 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 raised its holdings in 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 worth $116,315,000 after purchasing an additional 675,537 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California by 68.5% in 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 in 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.