Pacific Biosciences of California (NASDAQ:PACB) Upgraded to “Sell” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Pacific Biosciences of California (NASDAQ:PACB) to a sell rating in a report issued on Tuesday.

A number of other brokerages have also issued reports on PACB. Scotiabank dropped their price target on shares of Pacific Biosciences of California from $7.00 to $6.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Pacific Biosciences of California from $4.00 to $2.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $3.50 price target on shares of Pacific Biosciences of California in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their price objective on Pacific Biosciences of California from $3.50 to $3.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Pacific Biosciences of California from $2.00 to $2.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $3.63.

Pacific Biosciences of California Stock Performance

Shares of PACB stock traded down $0.17 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $1.69. The company had a trading volume of 6,548,601 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,573,880. The stock has a market cap of $461.46 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.18 and a beta of 2.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81, a current ratio of 8.01 and a quick ratio of 7.14. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $1.92 and its 200 day simple moving average is $1.77. Pacific Biosciences of California has a 52-week low of $1.16 and a 52-week high of $10.65.

Insider Transactions at Pacific Biosciences of California

In other news, insider Jeff Eidel sold 26,760 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1.59, for a total value of $42,548.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 869,730 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,382,870.70. The trade was a 2.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 2.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Pacific Biosciences of California

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California during the 2nd quarter valued at $1,775,000. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its stake in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California by 226.6% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,611,300 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $2,207,000 after purchasing an additional 1,117,966 shares in the last quarter. Koss Olinger Consulting LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California in the second quarter worth about $1,096,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC acquired a new stake in Pacific Biosciences of California in the second quarter valued at approximately $719,000. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. acquired a new stake in Pacific Biosciences of California during the 2nd quarter valued at $612,000.

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.