Pacific Biosciences of California (NASDAQ:PACB) Stock Price Up 8.5% – Should You Buy?

Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc. (NASDAQ:PACB)’s share price traded up 8.5% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $1.87 and last traded at $1.85. 2,130,217 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 79% from the average session volume of 10,105,922 shares. The stock had previously closed at $1.70.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on PACB. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Pacific Biosciences of California from $2.00 to $2.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on shares of Pacific Biosciences of California from $2.25 to $1.75 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Scotiabank reduced their target price on 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. 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, November 11th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Pacific Biosciences of California to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Pacific Biosciences of California has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $2.89.

Pacific Biosciences of California Stock Up 2.4 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $462.82 million, a P/E ratio of -1.16 and a beta of 1.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.97, a current ratio of 9.74 and a quick ratio of 8.64. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $1.89 and a 200 day moving average price of $1.82.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Oene Mark Van sold 34,405 shares of the company’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 transaction, the insider now owns 1,597,454 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,242,831.62. This represents a 2.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 2.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Pacific Biosciences of California

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of PACB. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California by 641.3% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 408,151 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $694,000 after purchasing an additional 353,092 shares during the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC bought a new position in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California during the second quarter valued at about $719,000. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California by 5.7% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,276,156 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $10,669,000 after buying an additional 340,766 shares during the period. Soros Fund Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California by 23.6% in the 3rd quarter. Soros Fund Management LLC now owns 2,098,000 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $3,567,000 after acquiring an additional 400,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in Pacific Biosciences of California by 143.0% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 595,150 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,011,000 after acquiring an additional 350,196 shares during the period.

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.