Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Sells 53,059 Shares of Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc. (NASDAQ:PACB)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP reduced its stake in Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc. (NASDAQ:PACB) by 9.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 496,816 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 53,059 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP’s holdings in Pacific Biosciences of California were worth $909,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. First Trust Advisors LP bought a new stake in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California during the fourth quarter worth $42,000. FNY Investment Advisers LLC acquired a new position in Pacific Biosciences of California in the 4th quarter worth about $45,000. Cibc World Markets Corp acquired a new position in Pacific Biosciences of California in the 4th quarter worth about $47,000. RPO LLC bought a new position in Pacific Biosciences of California in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $58,000. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Pacific Biosciences of California by 218.3% in the 4th quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 35,457 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $65,000 after buying an additional 24,318 shares during the last quarter.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price 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. StockNews.com upgraded Pacific Biosciences of California to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Scotiabank cut their price target on Pacific Biosciences of California from $6.00 to $2.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Canaccord Genuity Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $3.00 price target on shares of Pacific Biosciences of California in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their price target on shares of Pacific Biosciences of California from $2.00 to $1.25 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Pacific Biosciences of California presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $2.34.

Pacific Biosciences of California Price Performance

PACB stock opened at $1.06 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $318.09 million, a P/E ratio of -0.65 and a beta of 2.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.97, a current ratio of 9.74 and a quick ratio of 8.64. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $1.21 and a 200 day moving average of $1.61. Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc. has a 1 year low of $1.04 and a 1 year high of $2.72.

Pacific Biosciences of California (NASDAQ:PACB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.15) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.19) by $0.04. Pacific Biosciences of California had a negative net margin of 200.40% and a negative return on equity of 42.89%. The business had revenue of $37.15 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $36.90 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($0.26) earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc. will post -0.72 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Pacific Biosciences of California

In other news, insider Michele Farmer sold 24,349 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1.88, for a total transaction of $45,776.12. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 187,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $352,672.96. This represents a 11.49% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

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.