Pacific Biosciences of California (NASDAQ:PACB) Shares Gap Down – Should You Sell?

Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc. (NASDAQ:PACB) gapped down before the market opened 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 traded.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on PACB. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Pacific Biosciences of California from $2.00 to $2.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Scotiabank dropped 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, November 11th. StockNews.com raised Pacific Biosciences of California to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. Finally, UBS Group lowered 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $2.95.

Pacific Biosciences of California Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $501.17 million, a P/E ratio of -1.25 and a beta of 1.95. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $1.98 and a 200 day moving average price of $1.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.97, a current ratio of 9.74 and a quick ratio of 8.64.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Oene Mark Van sold 34,405 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $2.03, for a total transaction of $69,842.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 2.40% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Pacific Biosciences of California

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in PACB. Water Island Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California by 91.1% during the second quarter. Water Island Capital LLC now owns 20,000 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 9,537 shares during the period. PCA Investment Advisory Services Inc. lifted its position in Pacific Biosciences of California by 50.0% in 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 period. Atom Investors LP acquired a new stake in Pacific Biosciences of California in the third quarter worth approximately $30,000. Atria Investments Inc lifted its position 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 worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 10,138 shares during the period. Finally, Centiva Capital LP acquired a new stake in Pacific Biosciences of California in the third quarter worth approximately $40,000.

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.