Key Points
- Insider selling: Director Christian Henry sold 331,793 shares at an average price of $1.58 for $524,232.94 — reducing his stake by 10.55% — and together with two other insiders roughly 707,700 shares (~$1.13M) were sold on Feb. 17–18, a move that can weigh on investor sentiment.
- Mixed financials and market view: PacBio beat EPS expectations (‑$0.12 vs. consensus ‑$0.19) with revenue roughly in line at $44.65M, but remains unprofitable (negative net margin ~341%) with the stock near $1.62, a market cap ~ $488M and a consensus analyst rating of Hold (average PT $2.20).
Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc. (NASDAQ:PACB - Get Free Report) insider Michele Farmer sold 14,952 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1.63, for a total value of $24,371.76. Following the transaction, the insider owned 219,092 shares in the company, valued at $357,119.96. The trade was a 6.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.
Michele Farmer also recently made the following trade(s):
- On Tuesday, February 17th, Michele Farmer sold 35,215 shares of Pacific Biosciences of California stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $1.58, for a total transaction of $55,639.70.
Pacific Biosciences of California Stock Down 4.5%
Shares of NASDAQ PACB traded down $0.08 during trading on Friday, hitting $1.61. 2,404,905 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,050,623. The business's fifty day moving average is $2.02 and its 200 day moving average is $1.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $484.57 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.87 and a beta of 2.27. 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, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $0.85 and a fifty-two week high of $2.73.
Pacific Biosciences of California (NASDAQ:PACB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 12th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.12) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.19) by $0.07. Pacific Biosciences of California had a negative return on equity of 251.75% and a negative net margin of 341.47%.The firm had revenue of $44.65 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $44.60 million. Equities research analysts predict that Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc. will post -0.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Pacific Biosciences of California News Summary
Here are the key news stories impacting Pacific Biosciences of California this week:
- Neutral Sentiment: PacBio will participate in the TD Cowen 46th Annual Health Care Conference on March 2, 2026 — management will do a fireside chat that could provide updated guidance or color on product adoption and commercialization plans. Read More.
- Negative Sentiment: Christian O. Henry sold 331,793 shares on Feb. 17 (avg $1.58) and 140,874 shares on Feb. 18 (avg $1.63) — combined ~472,667 shares for roughly $753,858 in proceeds; each sale reduced his reported ownership (SEC filings). Insider selling at this scale often weighs on sentiment. Read More.
- Negative Sentiment: Oene Mark Van sold 129,790 shares on Feb. 17 (avg $1.58) and 55,107 shares on Feb. 18 (avg $1.63) — total ~184,897 shares (~$294,893). These reductions in his stake were disclosed to the SEC and can pressure the stock. Read More.
- Negative Sentiment: Michele Farmer sold 35,215 shares on Feb. 17 (avg $1.58) and 14,952 shares on Feb. 18 (avg $1.63) — total ~50,167 shares (~$80,011). Her filings show notable reductions in ownership. Read More.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
PACB has been the subject of several research reports. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Pacific Biosciences of California from $1.50 to $2.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 11th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (e+)" rating on shares of Pacific Biosciences of California in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. 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 research note on Monday, December 15th. Finally, Stephens boosted 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 research report on Monday, November 10th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $2.20.
Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on PACB
Institutional Trading of Pacific Biosciences of California
Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. ARK Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California by 20.5% in the fourth quarter. ARK Investment Management LLC now owns 37,264,228 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $69,684,000 after buying an additional 6,340,125 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC grew its position in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California by 500.9% during the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 4,916,795 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $6,293,000 after acquiring an additional 4,098,555 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California in the 4th quarter worth $7,201,000. Casdin Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California by 483.6% in the 4th quarter. Casdin Capital LLC now owns 4,223,767 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $7,898,000 after purchasing an additional 3,500,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amiral Gestion bought a new position in Pacific Biosciences of California in the 2nd quarter worth $3,208,000.
Pacific Biosciences of California Company Profile
(
Get Free Report)
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.
See Also
This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from InsiderTrades.com in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. Please send any questions or comments about this story to [email protected].
