Pacific Biosciences of California (NASDAQ:PACB) Shares Gap Down – Here’s Why

Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc. (NASDAQ:PACB) gapped down before the market opened on Thursday. The stock had previously closed at $2.55, but opened at $2.24. Pacific Biosciences of California shares last traded at $2.6580, with a volume of 2,507,690 shares changing hands.

More Pacific Biosciences of California News

Here are the key news stories impacting Pacific Biosciences of California this week:

• Positive Sentiment: PacBio reported third-quarter revenue of $40.56 million, above the $39.31 million consensus, and a loss of $0.11 per share, narrower than the expected $0.13 loss. Coverage also highlighted clinical adoption and AI partnerships as sources of growth. Zacks Q3 results Q3 deep dive
• Positive Sentiment: Piper Sandler reaffirmed its Neutral rating but raised its price target to $3 from $2, indicating a more favorable valuation view. Piper Sandler rating
• Neutral Sentiment: The company announced CFO changes; the report provided no further detail on the transition’s expected impact. CFO changes
• Negative Sentiment: Management narrowed its 2026 revenue guidance to $155 million–$160 million. Analysts also pointed to falling gross margins and substantial cash burn, which raises concerns about the company’s financial position despite its target of cash-flow breakeven in 2028. Revenue guidance and breakeven target Q3 outlook analysis
• Negative Sentiment: Barclays lifted its price target to $2 from $1.25 but maintained an Underweight rating, signaling continued caution about the shares. Barclays rating

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PACB has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Pacific Biosciences of California from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Pacific Biosciences of California in a research report on Wednesday, September 9th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $1.35 price target for the company. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Pacific Biosciences of California from a “sell (e+)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 13th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Pacific Biosciences of California from $1.25 to $2.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Piper Sandler reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $3.00 target price (up from $2.00) on shares of Pacific Biosciences of California in a research report on Thursday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Pacific Biosciences of California presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $2.09.

Pacific Biosciences of California Trading Down 7.0%

The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $1.93 and its 200-day moving average price is $1.62. The stock has a market cap of $702.48 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.38 and a beta of 2.21.

Pacific Biosciences of California (NASDAQ:PACB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 4th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.11) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.13) by $0.02. The company had revenue of $40.56 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $39.31 million. Pacific Biosciences of California had a negative net margin of 82.49% and a negative return on equity of 5,752.12%. As a group, analysts predict that Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc. will post -0.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Mark Van Oene sold 26,911 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1.13, for a total transaction of $30,409.43. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 2,705,853 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,057,613.89. This trade represents a 0.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, insider James R. Gibson II sold 661,815 shares of Pacific Biosciences of California stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3.11, for a total value of $2,058,244.65. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 1,083,848 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,370,767.28. The trade was a 37.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 3.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Pacific Biosciences of California

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Hhlr Advisors LTD. bought a new stake in Pacific Biosciences of California in the second quarter valued at $1,544,000. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California during the 2nd quarter worth about $54,330,000. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California during the 2nd quarter worth about $2,265,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California in the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,290,000. Finally, Man Group plc bought a new stake in Pacific Biosciences of California in the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,004,000.

About Pacific Biosciences of California

Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc (NASDAQ: PACB) is a life sciences technology company that develops and supplies DNA sequencing systems, consumables and related software. The company is best known for its single-molecule, real-time (SMRT) sequencing technology, which produces highly accurate long-read data used to analyze complex genomes, structural variation, genetic disease and other biological information.

PacBio’s product portfolio includes the Revio long-read sequencing system, the Sequel II and Sequel IIe platforms, sequencing consumables and the associated data-analysis software.