Pacific Biosciences of California (NASDAQ:PACB) Shares Up 10.1%

Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc. (NASDAQ:PACB - Get Free Report)'s stock price rose 10.1% on Monday . The company traded as high as $2.03 and last traded at $2.02. Approximately 5,116,811 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 48% from the average daily volume of 9,845,091 shares. The stock had previously closed at $1.83.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PACB has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Pacific Biosciences of California from $8.00 to $3.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded Pacific Biosciences of California from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. UBS Group lowered their target price on Pacific Biosciences of California from $12.50 to $12.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock 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, April 17th. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their price objective on shares of Pacific Biosciences of California from $12.00 to $2.50 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Pacific Biosciences of California has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $7.77.

Pacific Biosciences of California Price Performance

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 stock's fifty day moving average price is $3.31 and its 200-day moving average price is $6.12. The firm has a market cap of $541.96 million, a PE ratio of -1.64 and a beta of 1.99.

Pacific Biosciences of California (NASDAQ:PACB - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results 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. The company had revenue of $58.36 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $57.96 million. Pacific Biosciences of California had a negative net margin of 152.97% and a negative return on equity of 40.23%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 113.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted ($0.35) earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc. will post -1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director David W. Meline purchased 40,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was acquired 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 directly owns 40,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $176,000. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, insider Oene Mark Van sold 33,560 shares of the company's 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 sale, the insider now owns 876,611 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,224,601.56. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director David W. Meline bought 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were bought at an average price of $4.40 per share, for a total transaction of $176,000.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 40,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $176,000. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 37,359 shares of company stock worth $218,843. 1.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Pacific Biosciences of California

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in PACB. ARK Investment Management LLC boosted its position 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 acquiring an additional 4,681,833 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings 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 during the last quarter. Jackson Square Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California by 40.0% in the fourth quarter. Jackson Square Partners LLC now owns 9,704,766 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $95,204,000 after purchasing an additional 2,770,901 shares during the period. Bellevue Group AG increased its stake in Pacific Biosciences of California by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Bellevue Group AG now owns 7,317,128 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $71,781,000 after purchasing an additional 71,940 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC lifted its position in Pacific Biosciences of California by 23.9% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,622,920 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $38,601,000 after buying an additional 892,145 shares during the period.

About Pacific Biosciences of California

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.