State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Acquires 67,107 Shares of Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc. (NASDAQ:PACB)

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D lifted its holdings in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc. (NASDAQ:PACB) by 30.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 289,978 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 67,107 shares during the quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D owned approximately 0.11% of Pacific Biosciences of California worth $2,845,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PACB. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $59,000. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California during the third quarter valued at approximately $105,000. EMC Capital Management boosted its position in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California by 191.6% in 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. Ascension Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $132,000. Finally, Interchange Capital Partners LLC increased its position in Pacific Biosciences of California by 32.1% during the 3rd quarter. Interchange Capital Partners LLC now owns 16,718 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $140,000 after buying an additional 4,058 shares in the last quarter.

Pacific Biosciences of California Stock Performance

Shares of Pacific Biosciences of California stock opened at $1.60 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 7.81, a quick ratio of 7.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.27. Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc. has a 1-year low of $1.25 and a 1-year high of $14.55. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $3.58 and its 200-day simple moving average is $6.29.

Pacific Biosciences of California (NASDAQ:PACB) last released 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 business had revenue of $58.36 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $57.96 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($0.35) earnings per share. Pacific Biosciences of California’s revenue for the quarter was up 113.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc. will post -1 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director David W. Meline purchased 40,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $4.40 per share, for a total transaction of $176,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 40,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $176,000. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, Director David W. Meline bought 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were bought at an average price of $4.40 per share, for a total transaction of $176,000.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 40,000 shares in the company, valued at $176,000. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 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 sale, 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. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 37,359 shares of company stock valued at $218,843. 1.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on PACB shares. The Goldman Sachs Group cut Pacific Biosciences of California from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $7.00 to $2.50 in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Pacific Biosciences of California to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut Pacific Biosciences of California from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Barclays reduced their target price 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. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their price objective 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 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, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target 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.