Pacific Biosciences of California (NASDAQ:PACB) Stock Falls 11.6% - Should You Sell?

Key Points

• PACB shares fell 11.6% to $2.565 during Friday trading, with 3.84 million shares changing hands—about 53% below average volume.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious: the stock has a consensus “Reduce” rating from MarketBeat, with an average price target of $1.71 versus its recent trading price.
• PacBio recently missed quarterly expectations, reporting a $0.14 loss per share versus the $0.13 consensus estimate and revenue of $39.01 million versus $42.90 million expected; the company also remains deeply unprofitable.

Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc. (NASDAQ:PACB - Get Free Report)'s stock price traded down 11.6% during trading on Friday. The company traded as low as $2.57 and last traded at $2.5650. 3,837,142 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 53% from the average session volume of 8,180,390 shares. The stock had previously closed at $2.90.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Pacific Biosciences of California Stock Down 14.7%

The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $1.80 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $1.61. The stock has a market cap of $769.30 million, a P/E ratio of -5.76 and a beta of 2.19.

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

Insider Activity at Pacific Biosciences of California

In other news, insider Mark Van Oene sold 26,911 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the insider directly owned 2,705,853 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,057,613.89. The trade was a 0.98% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 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 that occurred on Tuesday, October 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3.11, for a total transaction of $2,058,244.65. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 1,083,848 shares in the company, valued at $3,370,767.28. The trade was a 37.91% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 3.70% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PACB. Choreo LLC acquired a new position in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California during the third quarter worth $27,000. Interchange Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California in the third quarter valued at $28,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California in the third quarter valued at about $38,000. Corient Private Wealth LP purchased a new stake in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California during the 2nd quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Essential Partners LLC bought a new position in Pacific Biosciences of California during the first quarter valued at $25,000.

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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