Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. Acquires 139,408 Shares of Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc. (NASDAQ:PACB)

Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. lifted its holdings in Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc. (NASDAQ:PACB) by 5,755.9% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 141,830 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 139,408 shares during the period. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc.’s holdings in Pacific Biosciences of California were worth $194,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. raised its position in Pacific Biosciences of California by 955.5% in the 1st quarter. Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. now owns 10,507,287 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $39,402,000 after buying an additional 9,511,787 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California by 15.1% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 26,789,552 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $262,806,000 after acquiring an additional 3,514,792 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $13,486,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new position in Pacific Biosciences of California during the second quarter valued at approximately $1,775,000. Finally, Koss Olinger Consulting LLC purchased a new stake in Pacific Biosciences of California in the second quarter worth approximately $1,096,000.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Pacific Biosciences of California news, insider Oene Mark Van sold 38,011 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1.66, for a total value of $63,098.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,630,815 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,707,152.90. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, insider Oene Mark Van sold 38,011 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1.66, for a total value of $63,098.26. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 1,630,815 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,707,152.90. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Jeff Eidel sold 26,760 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1.59, for a total transaction of $42,548.40. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 869,730 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,382,870.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Pacific Biosciences of California Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PACB opened at $1.74 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $474.20 million, a PE ratio of -1.53 and a beta of 2.03. Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc. has a 1 year low of $1.16 and a 1 year high of $10.65. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $1.66 and a 200-day moving average price of $2.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81, a current ratio of 8.01 and a quick ratio of 7.14.

Pacific Biosciences of California (NASDAQ:PACB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.20) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.24) by $0.04. Pacific Biosciences of California had a negative return on equity of 40.98% and a negative net margin of 211.99%. The business had revenue of $36.01 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $40.52 million. Equities analysts anticipate that Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc. will post -0.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on PACB. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $3.50 target price on shares of Pacific Biosciences of California in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Scotiabank lowered their target price on Pacific Biosciences of California from $8.00 to $7.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. StockNews.com raised Pacific Biosciences of California to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Pacific Biosciences of California in a research report on Monday, June 3rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $4.00 price target for the company. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their price objective on shares of Pacific Biosciences of California from $3.50 to $3.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $4.50.

Pacific Biosciences of California Company 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.