The Goldman Sachs Group Lowers Pacific Biosciences of California (NASDAQ:PACB) to Neutral

The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of Pacific Biosciences of California (NASDAQ:PACB) from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a research report report published on Thursday, MarketBeat.com reports. The Goldman Sachs Group currently has $2.50 target price on the biotechnology company’s stock, down from their previous target price of $7.00.

A number of other analysts have also recently weighed in on PACB. Scotiabank cut their price objective on shares of Pacific Biosciences of California from $15.00 to $8.00 and set a sector outperform rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. StockNews.com raised shares of Pacific Biosciences of California to a sell rating in a report on Wednesday. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Pacific Biosciences of California from $8.00 to $3.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. TD Cowen cut their price objective on shares of Pacific Biosciences of California from $12.00 to $2.50 and set a buy rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Finally, UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Pacific Biosciences of California from $12.50 to $12.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $7.77.

Pacific Biosciences of California Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PACB opened at $1.46 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $4.25 and its 200 day moving average price is $6.65. Pacific Biosciences of California has a fifty-two week low of $1.25 and a fifty-two week high of $14.55. The company has a quick ratio of 7.21, a current ratio of 7.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.27.

Pacific Biosciences of California (NASDAQ:PACB) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.27) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.29) by $0.02. Pacific Biosciences of California had a negative net margin of 152.97% and a negative return on equity of 40.23%. The firm had revenue of $58.36 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $57.96 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($0.35) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 113.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Pacific Biosciences of California will post -1.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Pacific Biosciences of California

In related news, insider Oene Mark Van sold 33,560 shares of Pacific Biosciences of California stock in a transaction on Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.96, for a total value of $200,017.60. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 876,611 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,224,601.56. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Pacific Biosciences of California news, insider Oene Mark Van sold 33,560 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.96, for a total value 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 SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director David W. Meline bought 40,000 shares of Pacific Biosciences of California stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $4.40 per share, with a total value of $176,000.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 40,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $176,000. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 37,359 shares of company stock worth $218,843 in the last three months. Insiders own 1.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Pacific Biosciences of California

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Mirador Capital Partners LP lifted its holdings in Pacific Biosciences of California by 506.0% in the first quarter. Mirador Capital Partners LP now owns 318,373 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,194,000 after acquiring an additional 265,835 shares during the period. SteelPeak Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California during the 1st quarter worth $355,000. Bourne Lent Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California by 10.5% during the 1st quarter. Bourne Lent Asset Management Inc. now owns 654,415 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $2,454,000 after buying an additional 62,200 shares during the last quarter. Green Alpha Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California by 20.5% during the 1st quarter. Green Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 49,947 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $187,000 after buying an additional 8,512 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California by 15.1% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 26,789,552 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $262,806,000 after buying an additional 3,514,792 shares during the last quarter.

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.