Pacific Biosciences of California (NASDAQ:PACB) Shares Up 5.7% - Should You Buy?

Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc. (NASDAQ:PACB - Get Free Report) shares traded up 5.7% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $1.96 and last traded at $1.95. 2,312,163 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 75% from the average session volume of 9,300,461 shares. The stock had previously closed at $1.84.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on PACB shares. StockNews.com raised Pacific Biosciences of California to a "sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. Scotiabank lowered 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 report on Wednesday, August 28th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $3.50 target price on shares of Pacific Biosciences of California in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Pacific Biosciences of California from $4.00 to $2.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 12th. Finally, 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 on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Pacific Biosciences of California has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $4.50.

Pacific Biosciences of California Stock Up 12.0 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $561.41 million, a P/E ratio of -1.37 and a beta of 2.05. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $1.70 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $1.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81, a quick ratio of 7.14 and a current ratio of 8.01.

Pacific Biosciences of California (NASDAQ:PACB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.20) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.24) by $0.04. The company had revenue of $36.01 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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%. Research analysts forecast that Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc. will post -0.95 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Jeff Eidel sold 26,760 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 19th. The stock was 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 directly owns 869,730 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,382,870.70. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Pacific Biosciences of California news, insider Jeff Eidel sold 26,760 shares of Pacific Biosciences of California stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owns 869,730 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,382,870.70. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Oene Mark Van sold 38,011 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1.66, for a total value of $63,098.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 1,630,815 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,707,152.90. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 2.40% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Pacific Biosciences of California

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Water Island Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Pacific Biosciences of California by 91.1% in the second quarter. Water Island Capital LLC now owns 20,000 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 9,537 shares during the last quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Pacific Biosciences of California in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in Pacific Biosciences of California in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Pacific Biosciences of California in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S acquired a new position in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California during the 1st quarter worth approximately $38,000.

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.