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Pacific Biosciences (PACB) Q4 Loss Narrower than Estimated

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Headquartered in Menlo Park, CA, Pacific Biosciences of California Inc. (PACB - Free Report) , a pioneer in the field of single molecule long resequencing, reported loss of 21 cents per share in the fourth quarter of 2016, 2 cents narrower than the Zacks Consensus Estimate. However, the figure was much wider than the loss of 2 cents reported in the year-ago quarter.

Shares of Pacific Biosciences witnessed a 3.7% rally to close at $4.78 following the earnings release. Meanwhile, this Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) stock has a long-term expected earnings growth rate of 30%.

Revenues of $25.7 million surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $24 million but declined 27.8% on a year-over-year basis.

 

For the full year, Pacific Biosciences reported revenues of $90.7 million, down 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. Furthermore, the company reported loss of 83 cents per share, wider than the year-ago loss of 42 cents.

RevenueDetails

Product revenues rose 110.2% to almost $20.5 million. Service revenues grew 31.08% from the year-ago quarter to almost $3.8 million.

Instrument revenues surged more than 151.9% year over year to $13.1 million, driven by growing Sequel instrument shipments. For the full year, the company registered instrument revenues of $41 million, up 119% on a year-over-year basis.

Consumable revenues totaled $7.5 million, up 64% on a year-over-year basis. For the full year, consumable revenues increased 26% on a year-over-year basis to $23.6 million.

Of the major fourth-quarter highlights, Pacific Biosciences witnessed order bookings for 30 systems, up from 20 systems booked in the third quarter. Notably, these bookings include a 5-system order from GrandOmics.

Meanwhile, Pacific Biosciences got featured in over 2000 publications in the fourth quarter, courtesy of its smart sequencing platform.

Margin Details

Gross profit was $11.4 million (44% gross margin) as compared with $26.5 million (73% gross margin) in the year-ago quarter.

Research & development (R&D) expenses were $16.3 million, higher than $14.7 million reported in the year-ago quarter.

Selling, general & administrative (SG&A) expenses totaled $13 million, marginally higher than $12.8 million in the year-ago quarter.

Balance Sheet

Cash and investments at the end of the fourth quarter was $72 million, compared with $82.3 million as of Dec 31, 2015.

Guidance

Management expects first-quarter revenues to be lower than the fourth quarter due to the decline in contractual revenues. However, revenues in the first quarter revenue are expected to grow significantly on a year-over-year basis.

For the full year, the company forecasts a 15% hike in operating expenses on a year-over-year basis. However, the company projects a wider loss for 2017 on a reported basis.

Stocks to Consider

Better-ranked stocks in the broader medical sector include Addus Glaukos Corporation(GKOS - Free Report) , Avinger, Inc. (AVGR - Free Report) and Dextera Surgical Inc. . Notably, Glaukos sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) while Avinger and Dextera Surgical carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Glaukos Corporation has a long-term expected earnings growth rate of approximately 25%. Notably, the stock represents an impressive one-year return of 175.5%.

Avinger projects sales growth of 2.3% for the current year. Additionally, the company posted a positive earnings surprise of 27% in the last quarter.

Dextera Surgical has a long-term expected earnings growth rate of approximately 25%. Notably, the stock represents an impressive one-month return of 51.04%.

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