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

Raymond James & Associates boosted its holdings in Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc. (NASDAQ:PACB) by 22.5% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 67,393 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 12,373 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates’ holdings in Pacific Biosciences of California were worth $661,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. 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 acquiring an additional 40,667 shares during the period. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd grew its position in Pacific Biosciences of California by 452.8% in the 3rd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 330,331 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $2,758,000 after purchasing an additional 270,573 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc grew its position in 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 worth $5,884,000 after purchasing an additional 285,343 shares during the period. Jump Financial LLC raised its stake in Pacific Biosciences of California by 227.6% during the 3rd 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 last quarter. Finally, State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D lifted its holdings in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California by 15.2% during the 3rd quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 222,871 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,861,000 after buying an additional 29,347 shares during the period.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on PACB shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered Pacific Biosciences of California from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday. UBS Group cut their price target on Pacific Biosciences of California from $12.50 to $12.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their price objective on shares of Pacific Biosciences of California from $9.00 to $2.50 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Pacific Biosciences of California to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of Pacific Biosciences of California from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $7.00 to $2.50 in a report on Thursday, April 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Pacific Biosciences of California currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $7.77.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director David W. Meline acquired 40,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $4.40 per share, with a total value of $176,000.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 40,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $176,000. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 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 stock was sold at an average price of $5.96, for a total value of $200,017.60. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 876,611 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,224,601.56. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director David W. Meline purchased 40,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $4.40 per share, with a total value of $176,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 40,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $176,000. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In 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 PACB stock opened at $1.36 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 7.81 and a quick ratio of 7.21. Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc. has a one year low of $1.25 and a one year high of $14.55. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $3.86 and its 200-day moving average price is $6.46. The company has a market capitalization of $364.41 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.12 and a beta of 1.83.

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

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.