GSA Capital Partners LLP Takes Position in Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc. $PACB

GSA Capital Partners LLP acquired a new position in Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc. (NASDAQ:PACB) in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 409,370 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock, valued at approximately $524,000. GSA Capital Partners LLP owned about 0.14% of Pacific Biosciences of California as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in PACB. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California by 2.3% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 16,379,972 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $20,966,000 after purchasing an additional 362,797 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers increased its holdings in Pacific Biosciences of California by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 415,679 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $532,000 after buying an additional 8,532 shares in the last quarter. Western Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Pacific Biosciences of California in the 3rd quarter worth about $52,000. IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd raised its position in Pacific Biosciences of California by 63.3% in the 3rd quarter. IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd now owns 1,288,692 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,650,000 after buying an additional 499,421 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH lifted its stake in Pacific Biosciences of California by 97.9% during the 3rd quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH now owns 808,700 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,035,000 after acquiring an additional 400,000 shares during the period.

Pacific Biosciences of California Trading Down 1.9%

Shares of PACB stock opened at $1.58 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 17.88, a current ratio of 6.24 and a quick ratio of 5.40. The company has a market cap of $477.02 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.86 and a beta of 2.26. Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc. has a 1 year low of $0.85 and a 1 year high of $2.73. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $2.00 and a 200-day moving average price of $1.78.

Pacific Biosciences of California (NASDAQ:PACB) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.12) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.19) by $0.07. Pacific Biosciences of California had a negative return on equity of 251.75% and a negative net margin of 341.47%.The company had revenue of $44.65 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $44.60 million. As a group, equities analysts predict that Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc. will post -0.72 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Christian O. Henry sold 331,793 shares of Pacific Biosciences of California stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1.58, for a total transaction of $524,232.94. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 2,814,374 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,446,710.92. The trade was a 10.55% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Oene Mark Van sold 129,790 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1.58, for a total transaction of $205,068.20. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 1,797,745 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,840,437.10. This represents a 6.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 707,731 shares of company stock valued at $1,128,762 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 2.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on PACB. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Pacific Biosciences of California in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of Pacific Biosciences of California from $1.50 to $2.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 11th. Stephens boosted their target price on shares of Pacific Biosciences of California from $1.80 to $2.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 10th. Zacks Research upgraded Pacific Biosciences of California from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on Pacific Biosciences of California from $1.50 to $2.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, December 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $2.20.

Pacific Biosciences of California Profile

Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc develops, manufactures and sells high-performance DNA sequencing systems for genetic and genomic analysis. The company’s proprietary single-molecule, real-time (SMRT) sequencing technology is designed to enable long-read sequencing, offering high accuracy for applications such as de novo genome assembly, transcriptome characterization and structural variation analysis. Pacific Biosciences markets a suite of instruments, including the Sequel and Sequel IIe systems, alongside reagents, consumables and data analysis software to support a range of life science research.

Founded in 2004 and headquartered in Menlo Park, California, Pacific Biosciences has expanded its global reach by serving academic institutions, biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies, and government research centers across North America, Europe and Asia.