Why Pacific Biosciences of California Jumped 10.5% in January
Image Source: Getty Images.
What happened
Shares of Pacific Biosciences of California (NASDAQ: PACB), a manufacturer of systems used in genomic sequencing,rallied more than 10% in January, according to data fromS&P Global Market Intelligence.
So what
Here's a review of the key developments during January that contributed to the gains:
- PacBio announced that GrandOmics Biosciencesof Beijing agreed to purchase five additional Sequelinstruments in order to support China's precision medicine initiative.
- The company announced enhanced versions of the company's chemistry and software for the Sequel System that promise to make the product more useful to researchers.
- PacBio announced that itsSMRT Sequencing technology would be featured in more than 115 presentations and posters at anInternational Plant & Animal Genome Conference taking placeduring the month.
- Management said Novogene Corporation had agreed to buy 10 Sequel Systems.
- Finally, management gave a presentation at the 2017 J.P. Morgan Healthcare conference that outlined the company's growth and financial plans for the year ahead.
This combination of positive developments allowed shares to partially recover from their drubbing in December.
Now what
Pacific Biosciences recently reported its fourth-quarter results, which were mixed. On the plus side, product and services revenue jumped by 92% year over year. However, the big increase was more than offset by the decline incontracting revenue from its recently terminated agreement withRoche (NASDAQOTH: RHHBY).
Thankfully, management continues to reaffirm its belief that the company's separation from Roche won't have much of an impact on sales growth. In fact, the company is projecting thatproduct and services revenue will grow by 40%-60% in 2017.
However, that growth will require the company to hire additional sales staff, as they will no longer have Roche helping to distribute their products. As a result,PacBio believes its net loss will grow in 2017.
Will the company succeed at selling its products without Roche? Only time will tell, but the recent sales to GrandOmics Biosciencesof Beijing andNovogene are certainly a good sign.
10 stocks we like better than Pacific Biosciences of California When investing geniuses David and Tom Gardner have a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, the newsletter they have run for over a decade, Motley Fool Stock Advisor, has tripled the market.*
David and Tom just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy right now... and Pacific Biosciences of California wasn't one of them! That's right -- they think these 10 stocks are even better buys.
Click here to learn about these picks!
*Stock Advisor returns as of January 4, 2017
Brian Feroldi has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Pacific Biosciences of California. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.