Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. Invests $4.85 Million in Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc. (NASDAQ:PACB)

Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc. (NASDAQ:PACB) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 494,790 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,854,000. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. owned approximately 0.19% of Pacific Biosciences of California at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. ARK Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California by 15.7% during the fourth quarter. ARK Investment Management LLC now owns 34,504,273 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $338,487,000 after acquiring an additional 4,681,833 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Pacific Biosciences of California by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 23,274,760 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $194,344,000 after purchasing an additional 147,993 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its position in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California by 23.9% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,622,920 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $38,601,000 after purchasing an additional 892,145 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California by 133.2% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 4,402,799 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $36,763,000 after buying an additional 2,514,656 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California by 2,201.0% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 3,041,624 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $29,838,000 after buying an additional 2,909,439 shares in the last quarter.

Pacific Biosciences of California Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PACB traded up $0.07 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $1.83. 14,517,068 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 13,654,614. Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $1.25 and a fifty-two week high of $14.55. The firm has a market cap of $498.38 million, a PE ratio of -1.51 and a beta of 1.99. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $3.31 and a 200-day simple moving average of $6.14. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.27) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $58.36 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $57.96 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($0.35) EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 113.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc. will post -1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PACB has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. TD Cowen cut their price target on shares of Pacific Biosciences of California from $12.00 to $2.50 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered Pacific Biosciences of California from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 22nd. UBS Group cut their price target on Pacific Biosciences of California from $12.50 to $12.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 16th. Barclays dropped their target price on Pacific Biosciences of California from $8.00 to $3.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Pacific Biosciences of California to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Pacific Biosciences of California presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $7.77.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Pacific Biosciences of California news, Director David W. Meline acquired 40,000 shares of Pacific Biosciences of California stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was bought at an average price of $4.40 per share, for a total transaction of $176,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 40,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $176,000. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, insider Oene Mark Van sold 33,560 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 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 can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director David W. Meline purchased 40,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was bought at an average price of $4.40 per share, with a total value of $176,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 40,000 shares in the company, valued at $176,000. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 37,359 shares of company stock worth $218,843. 1.90% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.