Private Wealth Partners LLC Makes New Investment in Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc. (NASDAQ:PACB)

Private Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc. (NASDAQ:PACB) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 10,000 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock, valued at approximately $98,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its stake in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California by 144.2% during the third quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 145,614 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,216,000 after buying an additional 85,988 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California during the third quarter worth approximately $105,000. Trellus Management Company LLC increased its stake in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California by 25.4% during the third quarter. Trellus Management Company LLC now owns 111,000 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $927,000 after buying an additional 22,500 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California by 133.2% during the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 4,402,799 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $36,763,000 after buying an additional 2,514,656 shares during the period. Finally, AtonRa Partners increased its stake in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California by 4.0% during the third quarter. AtonRa Partners now owns 65,082 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $543,000 after buying an additional 2,504 shares during the period.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on PACB. Scotiabank cut their target price on shares of Pacific Biosciences of California from $15.00 to $8.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded Pacific Biosciences of California from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $7.00 to $2.50 in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Barclays lowered their price target on Pacific Biosciences of California from $8.00 to $3.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. TD Cowen lowered their price target on Pacific Biosciences of California from $12.00 to $2.50 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their price target on Pacific Biosciences of California from $9.00 to $2.50 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Pacific Biosciences of California has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $7.77.

Pacific Biosciences of California Stock Performance

Shares of PACB stock traded up $0.09 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $1.47. The stock had a trading volume of 7,986,911 shares, compared to its average volume of 12,507,456. The firm has a market capitalization of $393.89 million, a PE ratio of -1.21 and a beta of 1.83. Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc. has a twelve month low of $1.25 and a twelve month high of $14.55. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $3.66 and its 200 day moving average is $6.37. 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 (NASDAQ:PACB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.27) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $58.36 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $57.96 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned ($0.35) earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 113.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc. will post -1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Pacific Biosciences of California

In other news, insider Oene Mark Van sold 33,560 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.96, for a total transaction of $200,017.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 876,611 shares in the company, valued at $5,224,601.56. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Pacific Biosciences of California news, Director David W. Meline acquired 40,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $4.40 per share, for a total transaction of $176,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 40,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $176,000. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Oene Mark Van sold 33,560 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.96, for a total value of $200,017.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 876,611 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,224,601.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 37,359 shares of company stock worth $218,843 over the last 90 days. 1.90% of the stock is currently owned by 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.