Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV Acquires New Stake in Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc. (NASDAQ:PACB)

Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV acquired a new stake in Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc. (NASDAQ:PACB) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 23,826 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock, valued at approximately $44,000.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. First Trust Advisors LP purchased a new position in Pacific Biosciences of California in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Boothbay Fund Management LLC bought a new stake in Pacific Biosciences of California during the 4th quarter valued at $43,000. Cibc World Markets Corp bought a new stake in Pacific Biosciences of California during the 4th quarter valued at $47,000. RPO LLC bought a new stake in Pacific Biosciences of California during the 4th quarter valued at $58,000. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Pacific Biosciences of California by 218.3% during the 4th quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 35,457 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $65,000 after acquiring an additional 24,318 shares during the period.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on PACB shares. Canaccord Genuity Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $3.00 target price on shares of Pacific Biosciences of California in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $1.80 target price on shares of Pacific Biosciences of California in a report on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on shares of 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. Scotiabank lowered 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. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Pacific Biosciences of California to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $2.34.

Pacific Biosciences of California Stock Down 2.4%

PACB opened at $1.04 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $310.59 million, a PE ratio of -0.63 and a beta of 2.19. The company has a quick ratio of 8.64, a current ratio of 9.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.97. Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc. has a 52 week low of $0.95 and a 52 week high of $2.72. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $1.20 and its 200 day simple moving average is $1.60.

Pacific Biosciences of California (NASDAQ:PACB) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.15) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.19) by $0.04. The business had revenue of $37.15 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $36.90 million. Pacific Biosciences of California had a negative return on equity of 42.89% and a negative net margin of 200.40%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.26) earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect 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 stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1.88, for a total value of $45,776.12. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 187,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $352,672.96. This represents a 11.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 2.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Pacific Biosciences of California Company Profile

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.