Pacific Biosciences of California (NASDAQ:PACB) Shares Up 5.3% Following Analyst Upgrade

Shares of Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc. (NASDAQ:PACB) were up 5.3% on Tuesday after StockNews.com upgraded the stock to a sell rating. The stock traded as high as $2.66 and last traded at $2.59. Approximately 3,506,621 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 63% from the average daily volume of 9,523,271 shares. The stock had previously closed at $2.46.

A number of other brokerages have also commented on PACB. UBS Group lowered Pacific Biosciences of California from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $2.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Monday. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Pacific Biosciences of California from $4.00 to $2.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 12th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Pacific Biosciences of California from $2.00 to $2.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday. Scotiabank lowered their target price on Pacific Biosciences of California from $7.00 to $6.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $3.50 target price on shares of Pacific Biosciences of California in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Pacific Biosciences of California currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $3.63.

Insider Activity at Pacific Biosciences of California

In other Pacific Biosciences of California 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 transaction of $42,548.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 869,730 shares in the company, valued at $1,382,870.70. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Pacific Biosciences of California 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 transaction of $42,548.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 869,730 shares in the company, valued at $1,382,870.70. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, 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 stock was sold at an average price of $1.66, for a total value of $63,098.26. Following the sale, 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. 2.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of PACB. Water Island Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California by 91.1% in the 2nd 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 second quarter valued at $29,000. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in Pacific Biosciences of California in the first quarter valued at $32,000. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Pacific Biosciences of California in the second quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, Atria Investments Inc increased its holdings in Pacific Biosciences of California by 85.7% in the third quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 21,968 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 10,138 shares during the period.

Pacific Biosciences of California Stock Down 10.2 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $539.61 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.36 and a beta of 2.01. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $1.91 and a two-hundred day moving average of $1.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81, a current ratio of 8.01 and a quick ratio of 7.14.

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.