New York State Common Retirement Fund Raises Holdings in Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc. (NASDAQ:PACB)

New York State Common Retirement Fund boosted its position in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc. (NASDAQ:PACB) by 299.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 84,725 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after buying an additional 63,500 shares during the quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund’s holdings in Pacific Biosciences of California were worth $155,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PACB. PCA Investment Advisory Services Inc. raised its stake in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California by 50.0% during the fourth quarter. PCA Investment Advisory Services Inc. now owns 15,000 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 5,000 shares during the last quarter. Atom Investors LP bought a new position in Pacific Biosciences of California during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Atria Investments Inc lifted its holdings in Pacific Biosciences of California by 85.7% in the 3rd quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 21,968 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 10,138 shares during the period. Centiva Capital LP bought a new stake in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $40,000. Finally, FNY Investment Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $45,000.

Insider Activity

In other Pacific Biosciences of California news, insider Oene Mark Van sold 34,405 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $2.03, for a total transaction of $69,842.15. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,597,454 shares in the company, valued at $3,242,831.62. This trade represents a 2.11 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Michele Farmer sold 24,349 shares of Pacific Biosciences of California stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1.88, for a total value of $45,776.12. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 187,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $352,672.96. This trade represents a 11.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 2.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Pacific Biosciences of California to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on shares of Pacific Biosciences of California from $1.75 to $1.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $2.50 price objective on shares of Pacific Biosciences of California in a report on Friday, February 14th. UBS Group lowered shares of Pacific Biosciences of California from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $2.00 target price for the company. in a report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Scotiabank cut their price target on Pacific Biosciences of California from $7.00 to $6.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $2.79.

Pacific Biosciences of California Stock Down 0.7 %

NASDAQ PACB opened at $1.34 on Thursday. 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 $1.16 and a 52 week high of $5.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $366.98 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.82 and a beta of 1.92. The company has a fifty day moving average of $1.68 and a two-hundred day moving average of $1.79.

Pacific Biosciences of California (NASDAQ:PACB) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.20) earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.20). The business had revenue of $39.22 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $39.20 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 last year, the firm posted ($0.27) earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc. will post -0.72 earnings per share for the current year.

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.