Pacific Biosciences of California (NASDAQ:PACB) Raised to Buy at UBS Group

UBS Group upgraded shares of Pacific Biosciences of California (NASDAQ:PACB) from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Friday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The firm currently has $10.00 price target on the biotechnology company’s stock, down from their prior price target of $13.00.

PACB has been the topic of several other research reports. Canaccord Genuity Group reduced their price target on shares of Pacific Biosciences of California from $17.00 to $15.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 31st. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on shares of Pacific Biosciences of California from $9.00 to $8.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 6th. StockNews.com raised shares of Pacific Biosciences of California to a sell rating in a report on Monday, November 6th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Pacific Biosciences of California from $14.00 to $9.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 29th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald raised shares of Pacific Biosciences of California from a neutral rating to an overweight rating and reduced their price target for the company from $14.00 to $11.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $11.80.

Pacific Biosciences of California Trading Up 2.1 %

Shares of PACB opened at $8.58 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 4.80, a quick ratio of 4.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $8.04 and its two-hundred day moving average is $10.84. Pacific Biosciences of California has a twelve month low of $5.74 and a twelve month high of $14.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.29 billion, a P/E ratio of -6.76 and a beta of 1.72.

Pacific Biosciences of California (NASDAQ:PACB) last issued its earnings results on Monday, October 30th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.27) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.29) by $0.02. Pacific Biosciences of California had a negative net margin of 182.34% and a negative return on equity of 43.39%. The company had revenue of $55.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $48.76 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted ($0.32) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 72.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Pacific Biosciences of California will post -1.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Pacific Biosciences of California

In related news, insider Christian O. Henry sold 96,844 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.12, for a total transaction of $980,061.28. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 1,106,095 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,193,681.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Pacific Biosciences of California news, insider Christian O. Henry sold 96,844 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.12, for a total transaction of $980,061.28. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 1,106,095 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,193,681.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Christian O. Henry sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.45, for a total transaction of $104,500.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,202,939 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,570,712.55. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 126,101 shares of company stock valued at $1,247,090. Company insiders own 1.90% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Pacific Biosciences of California

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California by 55.1% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,494,906 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $17,311,000 after acquiring an additional 530,864 shares in the last quarter. FDx Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California by 14.1% in the second quarter. FDx Advisors Inc. now owns 13,988 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $186,000 after acquiring an additional 1,733 shares in the last quarter. Duality Advisers LP acquired a new stake in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California in the first quarter worth $1,208,000. Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California in the second quarter worth $249,000. Finally, Barclays PLC increased its position in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California by 22.2% in the first quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 155,179 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,797,000 after acquiring an additional 28,211 shares in the last quarter.

Pacific Biosciences of California Company Profile

Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc designs, develops, and manufactures sequencing systems to resolve genetically complex problems. The company provides sequencing systems; consumable products, including single molecule real-time (SMRT) cells; and various reagent kits designed for specific workflow, such as template preparation kit to convert DNA into SMRTbell double-stranded DNA library formats, including molecular biology reagents, such as ligase, buffers, and exonucleases.