Pacific Biosciences of California (NASDAQ:PACB) Stock Price Down 8.3% on Analyst Downgrade

Shares of Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc. (NASDAQ:PACB - Get Free Report) fell 8.3% during trading on Wednesday after Barclays lowered their price target on the stock from $8.00 to $3.00. Barclays currently has an equal weight rating on the stock. Pacific Biosciences of California traded as low as $3.30 and last traded at $3.31. 1,228,586 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 85% from the average session volume of 8,423,924 shares. The stock had previously closed at $3.61.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on PACB. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of 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. StockNews.com upgraded Pacific Biosciences of California to a "sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 20th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Pacific Biosciences of California in a research report on Wednesday, December 13th. They set a "peer perform" rating for the company. Guggenheim began coverage on Pacific Biosciences of California in a research note on Thursday, December 14th. They set a "neutral" rating on the stock. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on Pacific Biosciences of California from $9.00 to $7.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $9.78.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Pacific Biosciences of California news, Director David W. Meline purchased 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $4.40 per share, with a total value of $176,000.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 40,000 shares in the company, valued at $176,000. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, Director David W. Meline purchased 40,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $176,000. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Oene Mark Van sold 33,560 shares of Pacific Biosciences of California stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider now directly 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 sold 37,359 shares of company stock valued at $218,843 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of PACB. Moody Aldrich Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California during the 4th quarter worth approximately $4,103,000. ARK Investment Management LLC boosted 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 purchasing an additional 4,681,833 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California by 37.5% in the third quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 149,131 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $1,255,000 after purchasing an additional 40,667 shares during the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd increased its stake in Pacific Biosciences of California by 452.8% in the 3rd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 330,331 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $2,758,000 after buying an additional 270,573 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in Pacific Biosciences of California by 2,201.0% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 3,041,624 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $29,838,000 after buying an additional 2,909,439 shares in the last quarter.

Pacific Biosciences of California Stock Performance

The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $4.77 and its 200-day simple moving average is $6.90. The company has a market capitalization of $892.27 million, a PE ratio of -2.75 and a beta of 1.83. The company has a current ratio of 7.81, a quick ratio of 7.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.27.

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 (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 the consensus estimate of $57.96 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($0.35) EPS. The business's revenue was up 113.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc. will post -1.01 earnings per share for the current year.

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.