Pacific Biosciences of California (NASDAQ:PACB) Stock Price Down 6.7% After Insider Selling

Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc. (NASDAQ:PACB – Get Rating)’s stock price fell 6.7% on Friday after an insider sold shares in the company. The company traded as low as $8.24 and last traded at $8.25. 1,188,821 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 72% from the average session volume of 4,309,005 shares. The stock had previously closed at $8.84.

Specifically, Director William W. Ericson sold 7,541 shares of Pacific Biosciences of California stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.90, for a total value of $67,114.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 18,795 shares in the company, valued at $167,275.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, Director William W. Ericson sold 7,541 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.90, for a total transaction of $67,114.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 18,795 shares in the company, valued at $167,275.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Susan G. Kim sold 5,045 shares of Pacific Biosciences of California stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.49, for a total value of $47,877.05. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 323,505 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,070,062.45. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 40,215 shares of company stock valued at $378,968 over the last ninety days. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on PACB. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on Pacific Biosciences of California from $11.00 to $10.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 22nd. Cantor Fitzgerald downgraded Pacific Biosciences of California from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $12.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Friday, January 20th. They noted that the move was a valuation call. Scotiabank initiated coverage on Pacific Biosciences of California in a research report on Wednesday, January 4th. They issued a “sector outperform” rating and a $12.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, UBS Group started coverage on Pacific Biosciences of California in a research report on Thursday, February 2nd. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $13.00 price objective on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $11.50.

Pacific Biosciences of California Trading Down 6.1 %

The stock has a fifty day moving average of $10.20 and a 200 day moving average of $8.72. The company has a market capitalization of $2.05 billion, a P/E ratio of -5.93 and a beta of 1.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59, a quick ratio of 3.04 and a current ratio of 3.24.

Pacific Biosciences of California (NASDAQ:PACB – Get Rating) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 16th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.35) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.34) by ($0.01). Pacific Biosciences of California had a negative return on equity of 47.73% and a negative net margin of 244.93%. The company had revenue of $27.35 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $27.29 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted ($0.30) earnings per share. Pacific Biosciences of California’s revenue for the quarter was down 24.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc. will post -1.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Pacific Biosciences of California

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of PACB. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in Pacific Biosciences of California by 280.2% in the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,015,819 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $9,244,000 after buying an additional 748,630 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE increased its stake in Pacific Biosciences of California by 10.6% in the 1st quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 25,761 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $234,000 after buying an additional 2,469 shares in the last quarter. AlphaCrest Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Pacific Biosciences of California in the 1st quarter worth $286,000. MetLife Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Pacific Biosciences of California by 50.1% in the 1st quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 103,966 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $946,000 after buying an additional 34,699 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vontobel Holding Ltd. increased its stake in Pacific Biosciences of California by 25.8% in the 1st quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 115,645 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,116,000 after buying an additional 23,693 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.88% of the company’s stock.

Pacific Biosciences of California Company Profile

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Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc engages in the development, manufacture, and marketing of advanced sequencing solutions for genetic analysis. It operates through the following geographical segments: North America, Europe, and Asia Pacific. The company was founded by Stephen Turner and Joseph Vincent Bonventre on July 14, 2000 and is headquartered in Menlo Park, CA.