Pacific Biosciences of California (NASDAQ:PACB) Shares Up 9.2% – Should You Buy?

Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc. (NASDAQ:PACB)’s share price shot up 9.2% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $1.63 and last traded at $1.7250. 697,479 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 90% from the average session volume of 6,679,110 shares. The stock had previously closed at $1.58.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Pacific Biosciences of California Trading Down 11.0%

The company’s 50 day moving average is $1.44 and its 200 day moving average is $1.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $450.37 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.37 and a beta of 2.35.

Pacific Biosciences of California (NASDAQ:PACB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.12) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.17) by $0.05. Pacific Biosciences of California had a negative net margin of 80.35% and a negative return on equity of 571.06%. The firm had revenue of $37.18 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $39.94 million. Analysts anticipate that Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc. will post -0.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Pacific Biosciences of California

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Creative Planning increased its stake in Pacific Biosciences of California by 245.9% in the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 175,690 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $218,000 after purchasing an additional 124,893 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its stake in Pacific Biosciences of California by 10.1% in the second quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 104,725 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $130,000 after purchasing an additional 9,617 shares during the period. Prudential Financial Inc. increased its stake in Pacific Biosciences of California by 73.0% in the second quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 35,684 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 15,062 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in Pacific Biosciences of California by 60.0% in the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 839,340 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,041,000 after purchasing an additional 314,697 shares during the period. Finally, HUB Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in Pacific Biosciences of California in the second quarter valued at $77,000.

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.