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

Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. bought a new stake in Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc. (NASDAQ:PACB - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. 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 hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $59,000. Private Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Pacific Biosciences of California during the 4th quarter worth approximately $98,000. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Pacific Biosciences of California during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $105,000. EMC Capital Management increased its position in Pacific Biosciences of California by 191.6% during the 3rd quarter. EMC Capital Management now owns 15,600 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $126,000 after purchasing an additional 10,251 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ascension Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Pacific Biosciences of California during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $132,000.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director David W. Meline bought 40,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $4.40 per share, with a total value 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Oene Mark Van sold 33,560 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, 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 SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director David W. Meline bought 40,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $4.40 per share, for a total transaction of $176,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 40,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $176,000. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 37,359 shares of company stock valued at $218,843 over the last ninety days. 1.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on PACB shares. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their price objective on shares of Pacific Biosciences of California from $9.00 to $2.50 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of Pacific Biosciences of California from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $7.00 to $2.50 in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Pacific Biosciences of California from $12.50 to $12.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Scotiabank decreased their price target on shares of Pacific Biosciences of California from $15.00 to $8.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Pacific Biosciences of California from $8.00 to $3.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $7.77.

Pacific Biosciences of California Trading Up 4.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ:PACB traded up $0.07 during trading on Friday, reaching $1.83. The stock had a trading volume of 14,517,068 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,654,614. The firm's fifty day moving average is $3.31 and its 200 day moving average is $6.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 7.21 and a current ratio of 7.81. Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc. has a 52 week low of $1.25 and a 52 week high of $14.55. The stock has a market cap of $498.38 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.51 and a beta of 1.99.

Pacific Biosciences of California (NASDAQ:PACB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 15th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.27) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.29) by $0.02. Pacific Biosciences of California had a negative net margin of 152.97% and a negative return on equity of 40.23%. The company had revenue of $58.36 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $57.96 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.35) EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 113.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc. will post -1 EPS for the current fiscal 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.