Pacific Biosciences of California (NASDAQ:PACB) Sees Large Volume Increase – What’s Next?

Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc. (NASDAQ:PACB) saw unusually-high trading volume on Wednesday. Approximately 10,411,181 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 29% from the average daily volume of 8,047,618 shares. The stock last traded at $2.9650 and had previously closed at $2.45.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on PACB. Weiss Ratings upgraded Pacific Biosciences of California from a “sell (e+)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 13th. Wall Street Zen cut Pacific Biosciences of California from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th. Finally, UBS Group started coverage on shares of Pacific Biosciences of California in a research report on Wednesday, September 9th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $1.35 price target for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $1.71.

Pacific Biosciences of California Price Performance

The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $1.80 and its 200-day simple moving average is $1.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $901.41 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.74 and a beta of 2.19.

Pacific Biosciences of California (NASDAQ:PACB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The biotechnology company reported ($0.14) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.13) by ($0.01). Pacific Biosciences of California had a negative net margin of 82.49% and a negative return on equity of 5,752.12%. The firm had revenue of $39.01 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $42.90 million. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc. will post -0.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider James R. Gibson II sold 661,815 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.11, for a total value of $2,058,244.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 1,083,848 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,370,767.28. The trade was a 37.91% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Mark Van Oene sold 26,911 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1.13, for a total transaction of $30,409.43. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 2,705,853 shares in the company, valued at $3,057,613.89. This represents a 0.98% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders own 3.70% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Pacific Biosciences of California

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California in the third quarter worth approximately $38,000. Choreo LLC bought a new position in Pacific Biosciences of California in the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Interchange Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in Pacific Biosciences of California in the third quarter worth about $28,000. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California by 14.7% in the third quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 56,714 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $134,000 after buying an additional 7,282 shares during the period. Finally, AdvisorNet Financial Inc lifted its holdings in Pacific Biosciences of California by 17.2% during the third quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 178,288 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $423,000 after purchasing an additional 26,166 shares during the last quarter.

Pacific Biosciences of California Company Profile

Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc (NASDAQ: PACB) is a life sciences technology company that develops and supplies DNA sequencing systems, consumables and related software. The company is best known for its single-molecule, real-time (SMRT) sequencing technology, which produces highly accurate long-read data used to analyze complex genomes, structural variation, genetic disease and other biological information.

PacBio’s product portfolio includes the Revio long-read sequencing system, the Sequel II and Sequel IIe platforms, sequencing consumables and the associated data-analysis software.