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Pacific Biosciences (PACB) Loss Wider Than Expected in Q1

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Pacific Biosciences of California (PACB - Free Report) reported first-quarter adjusted loss of 20 cents per share, which is wider than the Zacks Consensus Estimate by a penny. The company reported loss of 26 cents per share in the year-ago quarter.

Meanwhile, the stock has lost 33.3%, compared with the industry’s decline of 5.4% in a year’s time.

Pacific Biosciences carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Revenue Details

The Menlo Park, CA-based manufacturer of sequencing systems posted revenues of $19.4 million, which missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 21.1%. Revenues also dropped 22.1% from the year-ago quarter, primarily due to lower instrument revenues in the quarter under review.

Product revenues totaled $16.3 million, which deteriorated 23.5% from the prior-year quarter.

Meanwhile, service and other revenues came in at $3.1 million, down 14.9% year over year.

 

 

Furthermore, instrument revenues came in at $7.2 million, compared with $12.6 million a year ago. Consumable revenues came in at $9.1 million, slightly up from the year-ago $8.7 million.

Per management, Sequel instrument bookings were strong in the first quarter, with the highest number of instruments ordered since the introduction of the system. The orders include 10 instrument orders from both BGI and China. The growth in the Sequel business has partially offset the decline in the RS II Smart Cell usage.

Additionally, Alabama-based HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology has been using the company’s flagship Sequel System and has been expanding its use into human clinical research.

Margin Analysis

Gross profit in the first quarter of 2018 was $7.3 million, down 18.4% on a year-over-year basis.

Gross margin was 37.7% of total revenues, up 180 basis points (bps) year over year.

Operating expenses totaled $31.2 million, slightly down from $32.2 million in the prior-year quarter.

The contraction was led by lower R&D expenses, which totaled $16.3 million in the first quarter. Moreover, sales, general and administrative expenses in the quarter were $14.9 million, slightly lower than $15.2 million in the prior-year quarter.

Financial Condition

Pacific Biosciences’ cash, cash equivalents and investments, excluding restricted cash, totaled $79.3 million in the reported quarter. The figure rose 26.1% year over year.

In Conclusion

Pacific Biosciences ended the first quarter on a dreary note. Product and service revenues fell on a year-over-year basis due to lower instrument revenues. However, this was partially offset by a strong Sequel performance, which witnessed record bookings in the quarter. The adoption of the system by HudsonAlpha is also a major positive. The continued instrument orders from BGI and China are encouraging. Furthermore, the company is well poised on expansion of SMRT Sequencing and product development activities. Meanwhile, a highly competitive environment raises concern. Falling consumer revenues adds to the woes.

Other Key Picks

Some other top-ranked stocks in the broader medical space which have reported solid results this season are Intuitive Surgical (ISRG - Free Report) , Chemed Corporation (CHE - Free Report) and Baxter International Inc. (BAX - Free Report) . While Intuitive Surgical sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), Chemed and Baxter carry a Zacks Rank #2. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Intuitive Surgical reported first-quarter 2018 adjusted earnings per share of $2.44, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 22.6%. Revenues totaled $848 million, also surpassing the consensus estimate by 10.6%.

Chemed posted first-quarter 2018 adjusted earnings per share of $2.72, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.37. Revenues came in at $439.2 million, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $420 million.

Baxter posted first-quarter 2018 adjusted earnings per share of 70 cents, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 12.9%. Revenues of $2.68 billion also edged past the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.62 billion.

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