Raymond James & Associates Acquires 12,373 Shares of Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc. (NASDAQ:PACB)

Raymond James & Associates boosted its holdings in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc. (NASDAQ:PACB) by 22.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 67,393 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 12,373 shares during the quarter. Raymond James & Associates’ holdings in Pacific Biosciences of California were worth $661,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California by 37.5% in the third quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 149,131 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,255,000 after purchasing an additional 40,667 shares during the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd lifted its holdings in Pacific Biosciences of California by 452.8% during the 3rd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 330,331 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $2,758,000 after buying an additional 270,573 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc grew its position in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California by 68.0% in the 3rd quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 704,700 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $5,884,000 after buying an additional 285,343 shares during the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC increased its stake in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California by 227.6% in the third quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 395,203 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $3,300,000 after buying an additional 274,582 shares during the period. Finally, State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D raised its position in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California by 15.2% during the third quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 222,871 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,861,000 after acquiring an additional 29,347 shares during the last quarter.

Insider Buying and Selling at Pacific Biosciences of California

In other news, insider Oene Mark Van sold 33,560 shares of Pacific Biosciences of California stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.96, for a total transaction of $200,017.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 876,611 shares in the company, valued at $5,224,601.56. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, Director David W. Meline bought 40,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were bought at an average price of $4.40 per share, with a total value of $176,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 40,000 shares in the company, valued at $176,000. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Oene Mark Van sold 33,560 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.96, for a total value of $200,017.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 876,611 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,224,601.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 37,359 shares of company stock valued at $218,843. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Pacific Biosciences of California Stock Down 7.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ:PACB opened at $1.36 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 7.21 and a current ratio of 7.81. Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc. has a 52-week low of $1.25 and a 52-week high of $14.55. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $3.86 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $6.46. The firm has a market cap of $364.41 million, a P/E ratio of -1.12 and a beta of 1.83.

Pacific Biosciences of California (NASDAQ:PACB) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.27) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.29) by $0.02. Pacific Biosciences of California had a negative return on equity of 40.23% and a negative net margin of 152.97%. The company had revenue of $58.36 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $57.96 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.35) earnings per share. Pacific Biosciences of California’s revenue for the quarter was up 113.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc. will post -1.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on PACB shares. UBS Group reduced their target price on Pacific Biosciences of California from $12.50 to $12.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 16th. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on shares of Pacific Biosciences of California from $12.00 to $2.50 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Pacific Biosciences of California from $8.00 to $3.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Scotiabank decreased their price target on Pacific Biosciences of California from $15.00 to $8.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded Pacific Biosciences of California from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $7.77.

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.