Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc. (NASDAQ:PACB)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc. (NASDAQ:PACB) by 6.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,565,331 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 613,170 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned approximately 3.21% of Pacific Biosciences of California worth $11,287,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. raised its holdings in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. now owns 21,346,480 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $39,064,000 after purchasing an additional 1,038,600 shares during the last quarter. Softbank Group CORP. purchased a new position in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,426,000. Millennium Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California by 66.9% during the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 17,065,331 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $31,230,000 after purchasing an additional 6,840,953 shares during the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $8,962,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California by 6.7% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,514,824 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $4,602,000 after purchasing an additional 157,145 shares during the last quarter.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on PACB shares. Canaccord Genuity Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $3.00 target price on shares of Pacific Biosciences of California in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $1.80 target price on shares of Pacific Biosciences of California in a report on Thursday, May 15th. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on shares of Pacific Biosciences of California from $2.00 to $1.25 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 15th. Scotiabank reduced their target price on shares of Pacific Biosciences of California from $6.00 to $2.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Pacific Biosciences of California from $2.00 to $1.50 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, June 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Pacific Biosciences of California currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $2.06.

Pacific Biosciences of California Stock Up 6.0%

NASDAQ:PACB opened at $1.58 on Friday. Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $0.85 and a fifty-two week high of $2.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $474.13 million, a P/E ratio of -0.57 and a beta of 2.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.05, a quick ratio of 5.87 and a current ratio of 6.68. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $1.14 and its 200-day simple moving average is $1.40.

Pacific Biosciences of California (NASDAQ:PACB) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.15) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.19) by $0.04. The company had revenue of $37.15 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $36.90 million. Pacific Biosciences of California had a negative net margin of 430.93% and a negative return on equity of 52.07%. During the same period last year, the business earned ($0.26) EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc. will post -0.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Pacific Biosciences of California

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.