Pacific Biosciences of California (NASDAQ:PACB) Shares Gap Up to $1.91

Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc. (NASDAQ:PACB)’s stock price gapped up before the market opened on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $1.91, but opened at $2.00. Pacific Biosciences of California shares last traded at $2.05, with a volume of 405,961 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on PACB. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Pacific Biosciences of California from $10.00 to $4.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of Pacific Biosciences of California from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of Pacific Biosciences of California from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $7.00 to $2.50 in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Pacific Biosciences of California from $3.00 to $2.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 10th. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on Pacific Biosciences of California from $6.50 to $2.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Pacific Biosciences of California has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $6.38.

Pacific Biosciences of California Stock Performance

The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $1.70 and a 200 day simple moving average of $3.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 9.28 and a quick ratio of 8.36. The company has a market cap of $577.59 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.80 and a beta of 2.05.

Pacific Biosciences of California (NASDAQ:PACB) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 9th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.26) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.26). Pacific Biosciences of California had a negative return on equity of 40.26% and a negative net margin of 148.13%. The firm had revenue of $38.81 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $38.78 million. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc. will post -0.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Pacific Biosciences of California

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. lifted its stake in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California by 955.5% in the first quarter. Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. now owns 10,507,287 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $39,402,000 after buying an additional 9,511,787 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Pacific Biosciences of California by 15.1% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 26,789,552 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $262,806,000 after acquiring an additional 3,514,792 shares in the last quarter. Decheng Capital LLC acquired a new position in Pacific Biosciences of California in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,845,000. Jackson Square Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California by 40.0% during the fourth quarter. Jackson Square Partners LLC now owns 9,704,766 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $95,204,000 after purchasing an additional 2,770,901 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $13,486,000.

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.