Pacific Biosciences of California Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NASDAQ:PACB)

Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc. (NASDAQ:PACB) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Monday. Traders purchased 8,267 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 231% compared to the average daily volume of 2,497 call options.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Stephens lifted their price objective on shares of Pacific Biosciences of California from $1.80 to $2.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 10th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on Pacific Biosciences of California from $1.50 to $2.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 11th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Pacific Biosciences of California in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on Pacific Biosciences of California from $1.50 to $2.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, December 15th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $2.08.

Pacific Biosciences of California Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PACB traded up $0.02 during trading on Monday, reaching $1.86. The stock had a trading volume of 2,298,640 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,164,040. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 17.88, a quick ratio of 5.40 and a current ratio of 6.24. Pacific Biosciences of California has a 1-year low of $0.85 and a 1-year high of $2.73. The stock has a market cap of $560.04 million, a PE ratio of -0.84 and a beta of 2.32. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $2.02 and a 200-day moving average price of $1.58.

Pacific Biosciences of California (NASDAQ:PACB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 29th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.23) EPS for the quarter. Pacific Biosciences of California had a negative net margin of 325.02% and a negative return on equity of 101.49%. The firm had revenue of $3.34 million during the quarter. On average, equities analysts forecast that Pacific Biosciences of California will post -0.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Jump Financial LLC acquired a new position in Pacific Biosciences of California in the first quarter valued at about $25,000. Zacks Investment Management acquired a new position in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California by 891.1% in the 3rd quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 22,776 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 20,478 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Cim Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Pacific Biosciences of California by 100.7% in the 2nd quarter. Cim Investment Management Inc. now owns 25,550 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 12,822 shares during the last quarter.

About Pacific Biosciences of California

Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc develops, manufactures and sells high-performance DNA sequencing systems for genetic and genomic analysis. The company’s proprietary single-molecule, real-time (SMRT) sequencing technology is designed to enable long-read sequencing, offering high accuracy for applications such as de novo genome assembly, transcriptome characterization and structural variation analysis. Pacific Biosciences markets a suite of instruments, including the Sequel and Sequel IIe systems, alongside reagents, consumables and data analysis software to support a range of life science research.

Founded in 2004 and headquartered in Menlo Park, California, Pacific Biosciences has expanded its global reach by serving academic institutions, biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies, and government research centers across North America, Europe and Asia.