Pacific Biosciences of California (NASDAQ:PACB) Price Target Cut to $4.00 by Analysts at Morgan Stanley

Pacific Biosciences of California (NASDAQ:PACB) had its target price decreased by Morgan Stanley from $10.00 to $4.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. Morgan Stanley currently has an equal weight rating on the biotechnology company’s stock.

PACB has been the subject of a number of other reports. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on shares of Pacific Biosciences of California from $6.50 to $2.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research note on Monday. The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of Pacific Biosciences of California from a buy rating to a neutral rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $7.00 to $2.50 in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. StockNews.com raised shares of Pacific Biosciences of California to a sell rating in a research report on Tuesday. TD Cowen lowered their price target on Pacific Biosciences of California from $12.00 to $2.50 and set a buy rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded Pacific Biosciences of California from an overweight rating to a neutral rating in a report on Monday, April 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $6.59.

Pacific Biosciences of California Trading Up 3.7 %

Pacific Biosciences of California stock traded up $0.08 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $2.23. The stock had a trading volume of 6,012,794 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,243,815. Pacific Biosciences of California has a 52-week low of $1.25 and a 52-week high of $14.55. The company has a fifty day moving average of $2.80 and a 200 day moving average of $5.83. The firm has a market cap of $607.36 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.88 and a beta of 1.99. The company has a quick ratio of 8.36, a current ratio of 9.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38.

Pacific Biosciences of California (NASDAQ:PACB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 9th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.26) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.26). Pacific Biosciences of California had a negative return on equity of 40.26% and a negative net margin of 148.13%. The firm had revenue of $38.81 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $38.78 million. On average, analysts anticipate that Pacific Biosciences of California will post -1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Pacific Biosciences of California

In related news, insider Oene Mark Van sold 33,560 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.96, for a total transaction of $200,017.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 876,611 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,224,601.56. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, Director David W. Meline bought 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $4.40 per share, for a total transaction of $176,000.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 40,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $176,000. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Oene Mark Van sold 33,560 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 876,611 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,224,601.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 37,359 shares of company stock worth $218,843 over the last quarter. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Pacific Biosciences of California

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. raised its stake in Pacific Biosciences of California by 955.5% in the 1st quarter. Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. now owns 10,507,287 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $39,402,000 after acquiring an additional 9,511,787 shares during the last quarter. ARK Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California by 15.7% in the 4th quarter. ARK Investment Management LLC now owns 34,504,273 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $338,487,000 after acquiring an additional 4,681,833 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California by 15.1% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 26,789,552 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $262,806,000 after acquiring an additional 3,514,792 shares during the period. Decheng Capital LLC acquired a new position in Pacific Biosciences of California during the fourth quarter valued at $28,845,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position 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 worth $29,838,000 after purchasing an additional 2,909,439 shares during the period.

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.