AtonRa Partners Reduces Stock Position in Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc. (NASDAQ:PACB)

AtonRa Partners cut its position in Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc. (NASDAQ:PACB) by 9.8% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 58,722 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 6,360 shares during the period. Pacific Biosciences of California makes up approximately 1.1% of AtonRa Partners’ portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest position. AtonRa Partners’ holdings in Pacific Biosciences of California were worth $576,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California by 144.2% in the 3rd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 145,614 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,216,000 after acquiring an additional 85,988 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California during the 3rd quarter valued at about $105,000. Trellus Management Company LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California by 25.4% in the 3rd quarter. Trellus Management Company LLC now owns 111,000 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $927,000 after buying an additional 22,500 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California by 133.2% in 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 last quarter. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its holdings in Pacific Biosciences of California by 6.1% during the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 58,886 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $492,000 after acquiring an additional 3,391 shares during the period.

Pacific Biosciences of California Stock Up 8.8 %

Shares of Pacific Biosciences of California stock traded up $0.13 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $1.60. 8,926,629 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,814,427. Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc. has a 1 year low of $1.25 and a 1 year high of $14.55. The firm has a market cap of $428.72 million, a PE ratio of -1.32 and a beta of 1.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 7.21 and a current ratio of 7.81. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $3.58 and its 200 day moving average is $6.29.

Pacific Biosciences of California (NASDAQ:PACB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 15th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.27) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 the consensus estimate of $57.96 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($0.35) earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 113.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc. will post -1 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Pacific Biosciences of California

In other Pacific Biosciences of California news, Director David W. Meline bought 40,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $4.40 per share, with a total value of $176,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 40,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $176,000. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Pacific Biosciences of California news, Director David W. Meline bought 40,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 purchase, the director now directly owns 40,000 shares in the company, valued at $176,000. The acquisition 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 that occurred on Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.96, for a total transaction of $200,017.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 876,611 shares in the company, valued at $5,224,601.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 37,359 shares of company stock valued at $218,843. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on PACB. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their price objective on Pacific Biosciences of California from $9.00 to $2.50 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Pacific Biosciences of California to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. TD Cowen lowered their target price on shares of Pacific Biosciences of California from $12.00 to $2.50 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Scotiabank lowered their price target on Pacific Biosciences of California from $15.00 to $8.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut Pacific Biosciences of California from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $7.00 to $2.50 in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $7.77.

Pacific Biosciences of California 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.