Pacific Biosciences of California Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NASDAQ:PACB)

Key Points

• PACB call-option activity surged: Investors bought 21,266 call options, about 455% above the typical volume of 3,835 contracts.
• The stock rose to $2.27 and trades above its 50-day and 200-day moving averages, but PacBio remains unprofitable after missing quarterly EPS and revenue expectations.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious: PACB has a consensus “Reduce” rating and a $1.71 target price, while recent insider sales included a 37.91% reduction in James R. Gibson II’s direct ownership.

Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc. (NASDAQ:PACB - Get Free Report) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Monday. Stock investors bought 21,266 call options on the company. This is an increase of 455% compared to the typical volume of 3,835 call options.

Insider Transactions at Pacific Biosciences of California

In other Pacific Biosciences of California news, insider Mark Van Oene sold 26,911 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1.13, for a total value of $30,409.43. Following the sale, the insider owned 2,705,853 shares in the company, valued at $3,057,613.89. This trade represents a 0.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, insider James R. Gibson II sold 661,815 shares of Pacific Biosciences of California stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.11, for a total value of $2,058,244.65. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 1,083,848 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,370,767.28. This trade represents a 37.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 3.70% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Pacific Biosciences of California

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Corient Private Wealth LP purchased a new stake in Pacific Biosciences of California in the second quarter valued at $30,000. Essential Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California in the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Pinegrove Venture Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $34,584. Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new position in Pacific Biosciences of California during the 2nd quarter valued at about $46,000. Finally, Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California in the second quarter valued at $50,000.

Pacific Biosciences of California Price Performance

Shares of PACB stock traded up $0.15 on Monday, hitting $2.27. The stock had a trading volume of 5,697,698 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,984,458. The company's 50 day moving average price is $1.69 and its 200-day moving average price is $1.53. Pacific Biosciences of California has a 1 year low of $1.07 and a 1 year high of $3.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $704.03 million, a P/E ratio of -5.27 and a beta of 2.19.

Pacific Biosciences of California (NASDAQ:PACB - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The biotechnology company reported ($0.14) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.13) by ($0.01). Pacific Biosciences of California had a negative return on equity of 5,752.12% and a negative net margin of 82.49%. The business had revenue of $39.01 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $42.90 million. On average, equities analysts forecast that Pacific Biosciences of California will post -0.52 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on PACB shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded Pacific Biosciences of California from a "sell (e+)" rating to a "sell (d-)" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 13th. UBS Group started coverage on Pacific Biosciences of California in a research report on Wednesday, September 9th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $1.35 price target for the company. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Pacific Biosciences of California from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $1.71.

About Pacific Biosciences of California

Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc NASDAQ: PACB is a life sciences technology company that develops and supplies DNA sequencing systems, consumables and related software. The company is best known for its single-molecule, real-time (SMRT) sequencing technology, which produces highly accurate long-read data used to analyze complex genomes, structural variation, genetic disease and other biological information.

PacBio's product portfolio includes the Revio long-read sequencing system, the Sequel II and Sequel IIe platforms, sequencing consumables and the associated data-analysis software.

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