Insider Selling: Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc. (NASDAQ:PACB) Insider Sells 24,349 Shares of Stock

Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc. (NASDAQ:PACB) insider Michele Farmer sold 24,349 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1.88, for a total transaction of $45,776.12. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 187,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $352,672.96. This trade represents a 11.49 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Pacific Biosciences of California Trading Down 7.3 %

PACB stock opened at $1.64 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.97, a quick ratio of 8.64 and a current ratio of 9.74. Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc. has a 52-week low of $1.16 and a 52-week high of $6.09. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $1.77 and its 200-day simple moving average is $1.79.

Pacific Biosciences of California (NASDAQ:PACB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.20) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.20). The firm had revenue of $39.22 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $39.20 million. Pacific Biosciences of California had a negative return on equity of 42.89% and a negative net margin of 200.40%. During the same period last year, the company earned ($0.27) EPS. Equities analysts predict that Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc. will post -0.72 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Pacific Biosciences of California

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of PACB. PCA Investment Advisory Services Inc. increased its position in Pacific Biosciences of California by 50.0% during the fourth quarter. PCA Investment Advisory Services Inc. now owns 15,000 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 5,000 shares during the last quarter. Atom Investors LP purchased a new stake in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California during the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. Atria Investments Inc increased its holdings in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California by 85.7% during the 3rd 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. First Trust Advisors LP purchased a new position in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California in the 4th quarter worth $42,000. Finally, Centiva Capital LP acquired a new position in Pacific Biosciences of California in the third quarter valued at $40,000.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Scotiabank dropped their target price on shares of Pacific Biosciences of California from $7.00 to $6.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 11th. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $2.50 price objective on shares of Pacific Biosciences of California in a research note on Friday, February 14th. UBS Group downgraded Pacific Biosciences of California from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $2.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Monday, November 11th. StockNews.com upgraded Pacific Biosciences of California to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Piper Sandler reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $2.00 price target (down previously from $2.50) on shares of Pacific Biosciences of California in a research note on Thursday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $2.79.

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.