Vanguard Group Inc. Has $27.87 Million Stock Holdings in Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc. (NASDAQ:PACB)

Vanguard Group Inc. lowered its stake in Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc. (NASDAQ:PACB) by 13.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 15,226,858 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 2,415,946 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 5.56% of Pacific Biosciences of California worth $27,865,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of PACB. PCA Investment Advisory Services Inc. raised its holdings in Pacific Biosciences of California by 50.0% in the 4th quarter. PCA Investment Advisory Services Inc. now owns 15,000 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 5,000 shares during the last quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California during the fourth quarter valued at $45,000. Cibc World Markets Corp acquired a new position in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California during the fourth quarter worth $47,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California by 218.3% during the fourth quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 35,457 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $65,000 after purchasing an additional 24,318 shares during the period. Finally, KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new stake in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California in the fourth quarter worth $75,000.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on PACB. Scotiabank dropped their target price on shares of Pacific Biosciences of California from $6.00 to $2.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Canaccord Genuity Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $3.00 price objective on shares of Pacific Biosciences of California in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $2.00 target price (down previously from $2.50) on shares of Pacific Biosciences of California in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $2.50 target price on shares of Pacific Biosciences of California in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on Pacific Biosciences of California from $1.75 to $1.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $2.46.

Pacific Biosciences of California Trading Down 2.9 %

NASDAQ PACB opened at $1.32 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $1.38 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $1.72. Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc. has a twelve month low of $1.08 and a twelve month high of $3.20. The company has a quick ratio of 8.64, a current ratio of 9.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.97. The company has a market capitalization of $393.16 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.80 and a beta of 2.04.

Pacific Biosciences of California (NASDAQ:PACB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.20) earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $39.22 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $39.20 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted ($0.27) EPS. Research analysts forecast that Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc. will post -0.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Michele Farmer sold 24,349 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1.88, for a total transaction of $45,776.12. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 187,592 shares in the company, valued at $352,672.96. The trade was a 11.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 2.40% of the company’s stock.

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.