Pacific Biosciences of California (NASDAQ:PACB) Shares Gap Down - Time to Sell?

Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc. (NASDAQ:PACB - Get Free Report)'s share price gapped down prior to trading on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $2.01, but opened at $1.93. Pacific Biosciences of California shares last traded at $1.98, with a volume of 1,266,656 shares.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on PACB. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of Pacific Biosciences of California from $2.00 to $2.50 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. UBS Group lowered shares of Pacific Biosciences of California from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $2.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Scotiabank cut their price objective on Pacific Biosciences of California from $7.00 to $6.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Pacific Biosciences of California to a "sell" rating in a report on Thursday, January 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $2.95.

Pacific Biosciences of California Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $506.65 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.27 and a beta of 1.95. The firm's 50 day moving average is $1.98 and its 200-day moving average is $1.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.97, a quick ratio of 8.64 and a current ratio of 9.74.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Oene Mark Van sold 34,405 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, January 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $2.03, for a total value of $69,842.15. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 1,597,454 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,242,831.62. The trade was a 2.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 2.40% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of PACB. Water Island Capital LLC grew its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 9,537 shares during the last quarter. PCA Investment Advisory Services Inc. increased its position in Pacific Biosciences of California by 50.0% in the 4th quarter. PCA Investment Advisory Services Inc. now owns 15,000 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 5,000 shares during the period. Atom Investors LP bought a new position in Pacific Biosciences of California in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Atria Investments Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California by 85.7% during the third quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 21,968 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 10,138 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Centiva Capital LP bought a new stake in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California in the third quarter valued at approximately $40,000.

About Pacific Biosciences of California

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.