Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Sells 2,121,331 Shares of Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc. (NASDAQ:PACB)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP reduced its holdings in Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc. (NASDAQ:PACB) by 61.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,313,137 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 2,121,331 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP’s holdings in Pacific Biosciences of California were worth $1,799,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of PACB. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California in the fourth quarter worth about $177,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings 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 in the last quarter. Green Alpha Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California by 20.5% in the first quarter. Green Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 49,947 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $187,000 after acquiring an additional 8,512 shares in the last quarter. Bourne Lent Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California by 10.5% in the first quarter. Bourne Lent Asset Management Inc. now owns 654,415 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $2,454,000 after acquiring an additional 62,200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SteelPeak Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California in the first quarter worth about $355,000.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Oene Mark Van sold 38,011 shares of the firm’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 sale, the insider now directly owns 1,630,815 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,707,152.90. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, insider Jeff Eidel sold 26,760 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1.59, for a total value of $42,548.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 869,730 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,382,870.70. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Oene Mark Van sold 38,011 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 1,630,815 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,707,152.90. The trade was a 0.00 % 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.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PACB has been the subject of several recent research reports. Scotiabank reduced their price objective on Pacific Biosciences of California from $8.00 to $7.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. Canaccord Genuity Group reduced their price objective on Pacific Biosciences of California from $3.50 to $3.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Pacific Biosciences of California from $4.00 to $2.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 12th. StockNews.com raised Pacific Biosciences of California to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $3.50 price objective on shares of Pacific Biosciences of California in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Pacific Biosciences of California presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $4.50.

Pacific Biosciences of California Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PACB opened at $1.98 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $1.62 and a 200 day moving average price of $1.86. Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc. has a 52 week low of $1.16 and a 52 week high of $10.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81, a quick ratio of 7.14 and a current ratio of 8.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $539.61 million, a PE ratio of -1.32 and a beta of 2.05.

Pacific Biosciences of California (NASDAQ:PACB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.20) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $36.01 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $40.52 million. Analysts predict that Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc. will post -0.95 earnings per share 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.