Sanford C. Bernstein Lowers Pacific Biosciences of California (NASDAQ:PACB) Price Target to $2.50

Pacific Biosciences of California (NASDAQ:PACB) had its target price reduced by Sanford C. Bernstein from $9.00 to $2.50 in a report released on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the biotechnology company’s stock.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on PACB. Scotiabank cut their target price on shares of Pacific Biosciences of California from $15.00 to $8.00 and set a sector outperform rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. TD Cowen reduced 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, April 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of Pacific Biosciences of California from a buy rating to a neutral rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $7.00 to $2.50 in a research note on Thursday. StockNews.com upgraded Pacific Biosciences of California to a sell rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price objective on Pacific Biosciences of California from $12.50 to $12.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $7.77.

Pacific Biosciences of California Price Performance

Pacific Biosciences of California stock opened at $1.55 on Thursday. 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 has a 52-week low of $1.25 and a 52-week high of $14.55. The firm has a market cap of $415.32 million, a PE ratio of -1.28 and a beta of 1.83. The company’s 50 day moving average is $4.15 and its two-hundred day moving average is $6.59.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Pacific Biosciences of California

In other news, insider Oene Mark Van sold 33,560 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 876,611 shares in the company, valued at $5,224,601.56. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, Director David W. Meline acquired 40,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $4.40 per share, with a total value of $176,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 40,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $176,000. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Oene Mark Van sold 33,560 shares of Pacific Biosciences of California stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 876,611 shares in the company, valued at $5,224,601.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 37,359 shares of company stock worth $218,843. 1.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Pacific Biosciences of California

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Fairfield Bush & CO. purchased a new position in Pacific Biosciences of California during the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. KBC Group NV purchased a new position in Pacific Biosciences of California during the fourth quarter worth about $53,000. Comerica Bank acquired a new stake in Pacific Biosciences of California in the third quarter valued at about $46,000. Captrust Financial Advisors boosted its holdings in Pacific Biosciences of California by 217.2% in the 2nd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 6,163 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 4,220 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Pacific Biosciences of California during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $59,000.

Pacific Biosciences of California Company Profile

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.