Pacific Biosciences of California (NASDAQ:PACB) Shares Up 11% – Here’s What Happened

Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc. (NASDAQ:PACB) rose 11% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $1.65 and last traded at $1.6650. 1,090,508 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 83% from the average session volume of 6,563,528 shares. The stock had previously closed at $1.50.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Pacific Biosciences of California from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Pacific Biosciences of California in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Pacific Biosciences of California from $1.00 to $1.50 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $1.83.

Pacific Biosciences of California Trading Up 10.3%

The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $1.44 and a 200 day moving average price of $1.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $514.04 million, a PE ratio of -3.85 and a beta of 2.29.

Pacific Biosciences of California (NASDAQ:PACB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.12) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.17) by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $37.18 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $39.94 million. Pacific Biosciences of California had a negative net margin of 80.35% and a negative return on equity of 571.06%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc. will post -0.5 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Pacific Biosciences of California

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Outlook Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California in the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Cibc World Markets Corp purchased a new stake in Pacific Biosciences of California in the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Essential Partners LLC bought a new stake in Pacific Biosciences of California in the first quarter worth about $25,000. Zacks Investment Management purchased a new position in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California during the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Finally, Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV boosted its position in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California by 47.9% during the fourth quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 20,663 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 6,695 shares during the period.

About Pacific Biosciences of California

Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc develops, manufactures and sells high-performance DNA sequencing systems for genetic and genomic analysis. The company’s proprietary single-molecule, real-time (SMRT) sequencing technology is designed to enable long-read sequencing, offering high accuracy for applications such as de novo genome assembly, transcriptome characterization and structural variation analysis. Pacific Biosciences markets a suite of instruments, including the Sequel and Sequel IIe systems, alongside reagents, consumables and data analysis software to support a range of life science research.

Founded in 2004 and headquartered in Menlo Park, California, Pacific Biosciences has expanded its global reach by serving academic institutions, biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies, and government research centers across North America, Europe and Asia.