Pacific Biosciences of California (NASDAQ:PACB) Shares Gap Down to $2.04

Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc. (NASDAQ:PACB - Get Free Report)'s share price gapped down before the market opened on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $2.04, but opened at $1.98. Pacific Biosciences of California shares last traded at $1.99, with a volume of 932,499 shares.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Scotiabank decreased their target price on shares of Pacific Biosciences of California from $8.00 to $7.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. Canaccord Genuity Group cut their target price on shares of Pacific Biosciences of California from $3.50 to $3.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Pacific Biosciences of California in a research report on Monday, June 3rd. They set a "buy" rating and a $4.00 price target on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Pacific Biosciences of California to a "sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated an "overweight" rating and set a $3.50 target price on shares of Pacific Biosciences of California in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Pacific Biosciences of California presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $4.50.

Pacific Biosciences of California Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $497.05 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.61 and a beta of 2.03. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $1.68 and its 200 day simple moving average is $2.13. The company has a current ratio of 8.01, a quick ratio of 7.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81.

Pacific Biosciences of California (NASDAQ:PACB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.20) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.24) by $0.04. The company had revenue of $36.01 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $40.52 million. Pacific Biosciences of California had a negative return on equity of 40.98% and a negative net margin of 211.99%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc. will post -0.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Pacific Biosciences of California

In other news, insider Jeff Eidel sold 26,760 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1.59, for a total transaction of $42,548.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 869,730 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,382,870.70. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, insider Jeff Eidel sold 26,760 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1.59, for a total value of $42,548.40. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 869,730 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,382,870.70. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Oene Mark Van sold 38,011 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1.66, for a total value of $63,098.26. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 1,630,815 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,707,152.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Pacific Biosciences of California

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its holdings in Pacific Biosciences of California by 100.3% during the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,167,708 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $4,379,000 after acquiring an additional 584,734 shares during the period. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California in the first quarter valued at approximately $98,000. Quantbot Technologies LP grew its holdings in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California by 330.4% in the first quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 88,834 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $333,000 after purchasing an additional 68,195 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Pacific Biosciences of California during the 4th quarter worth approximately $13,486,000. Finally, US Bancorp DE lifted its holdings in Pacific Biosciences of California by 221.4% during the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 60,700 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $595,000 after buying an additional 41,816 shares in the last quarter.

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.