Raymond James Financial Inc. Makes New Investment in Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc. (NASDAQ:PACB)

Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc. (NASDAQ:PACB) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 138,116 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock, valued at approximately $253,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned approximately 0.05% of Pacific Biosciences of California as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. ARK Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California by 7.9% in the 4th quarter. ARK Investment Management LLC now owns 36,044,362 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $65,961,000 after buying an additional 2,637,961 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its stake in Pacific Biosciences of California by 641.3% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 408,151 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $694,000 after acquiring an additional 353,092 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC grew its position in Pacific Biosciences of California by 143.0% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 595,150 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,011,000 after acquiring an additional 350,196 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California by 5.7% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,276,156 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $10,669,000 after purchasing an additional 340,766 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,327,906 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $10,759,000 after purchasing an additional 225,034 shares during the last quarter.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Scotiabank reduced their price objective on shares of Pacific Biosciences of California from $6.00 to $2.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Canaccord Genuity Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $3.00 target price on shares of Pacific Biosciences of California in a research report on Thursday. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Pacific Biosciences of California to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on Pacific Biosciences of California from $1.75 to $1.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $2.50 price objective on shares of Pacific Biosciences of California in a research report on Friday, February 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $2.46.

Pacific Biosciences of California Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PACB opened at $1.38 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $411.04 million, a PE ratio of -0.84 and a beta of 2.04. Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $1.08 and a fifty-two week high of $3.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.97, a current ratio of 9.74 and a quick ratio of 8.64. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $1.39 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $1.72.

Pacific Biosciences of California (NASDAQ:PACB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.20) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of ($0.20). Pacific Biosciences of California had a negative net margin of 200.40% and a negative return on equity of 42.89%. The business had revenue of $39.22 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $39.20 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($0.27) EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc. will post -0.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Pacific Biosciences of California

In related news, insider Michele Farmer sold 24,349 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1.88, for a total transaction of $45,776.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 187,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $352,672.96. This trade represents a 11.49 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 2.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.