Yahoo Finance PacBio (PACB) Q1 Earnings In Line, Adjusted Gross Margin Up
Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc. PACB, popularly known as PacBio, delivered an adjusted loss per share of 26 cents in first-quarter 2024, narrower than the year-ago loss of 31 cents per share. The adjusted loss per share aligned with the Zacks Consensus Estimate.
The company’s GAAP loss per share was 29 cents in the quarter, narrower than the year-ago period’s loss of 36 cents.
Revenues in Detail
PacBio registered revenues of $38.8 million in the first quarter, down 0.2% year over year. The figure beats the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 0.08%.
Geographical Analysis
PacBio’s revenues from the Americas were $17.7 million, down 7% year over year. This was primarily due to a decline in Revio shipments.
In the Asia-Pacific region, PacBio recorded revenues of $12.8 million, reflecting a 7% uptick year over year. Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region registered revenues of $8.4 million, which rose 6% year over year.
Segmental Analysis
Product revenues amounted to $35 million, up 1.02% from the year-ago quarter.
PacBio shipped 28 Revio sequencing systems in the first quarter, which brought the company’s installed base to 201 Revio systems as of Mar 31, 2024.
Instrument revenues were $19 million, down 8% year over year. This decrease was due to lower Revio unit shipments.
Consumables revenues for the first quarter of 2024 were $16 million, up 14.3% from the prior-year quarter.
Service and other revenues totaled $3.8 million, down 10.5% year over year.
Margin Trend
In the quarter under review, PacBio’s adjusted gross profit increased 27% to $12.6 million. However, the adjusted gross margin expanded 700 basis points to 33% year over year.
Sales, general and administrative expenses rose 9.9% to $43.8 million. Research and development expenses declined 11.2% year over year to $43.5 million. Adjusted total operating expenses of $87.2 million declined 1.7% year over year.
Total operating loss was $81.4 million in the reported quarter, narrower than the prior-year quarter’s $91.3 million.
Financial Position
PacBio exited first-quarter 2024 with cash, cash equivalents and investments (excluding short-term and long-term restricted cash) of $561.9 million compared with $631.4 million at the end of the fourth quarter of 2023.
Guidance
On Apr 16, during its preliminary Q1 update, PacBio initiated its revenue outlook for 2024.
The company expects to achieve revenues in the range of $170 million-$200 million. The Zacks Consensus Estimate is pegged at $182.8 million.
Management also expects $85 million of instrument revenues for the fiscal 2024 including 120 Revio shipments. Consumable revenues are expected to be $80 million.
Our Take
PacBio exited the first quarter of 2024 with decent results where earnings aligned with the Zacks Consensus Estimate and revenues beating the same.
PACB saw an uptick in Product as well as Consumables revenues. Strong geographical performances in the Asia-Pacific region and EMEA were also encouraging. Expansion of adjusted gross margin also raises optimism. Continued strong prospects in the Revio system, with customers placing orders for these, looked promising for the stock.
In March 2024, PacBio announced the PureTarget repeat expansion panel, a new approach that makes it possible to thoroughly examine 20 genes linked to severe neurological conditions, including difficult-to-sequence genes with tandem repeat expansions, is now possible.
In January 2024, PacBio announced the release of a versatile Nanobind DNA extraction kit — PanDNA. In February, the company announced two new high throughput library preparation kits and workflows optimized for its Revio sequencing system — HiFi Prep Kit 96 and HiFi Plex Prep Kit 96. These developments also raised optimism about the stock.
Yet, the continued loss per share reported by PacBio was disappointing. The year-over-year decline in Service and other revenues and Instrument revenues was concerning. The year-over-year adjusted operating loss was another area of concern. The continued inflationary pressures and high interest rates also raise apprehension.
Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise
Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc. price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc. Quote
Zacks Rank and Other Key Picks
PacBio currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
Some other top-ranked stocks in the broader medical space that have announced quarterly results are Align Technology, Inc. ALGN, Ecolab ECL and Boston Scientific Corporation BSX.
Align Technology, carrying a Zacks Rank of 2, reported first-quarter 2024 adjusted EPS of $2.14, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 8.1%. Revenues of $997.4 million outpaced the consensus mark by 2.6%. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Align Technology has a long-term estimated growth rate of 6.9%. ALGN’s earnings surpassed estimates in three of the trailing four quarters and missed once, the average surprise being 5.9%.
Ecolab, carrying a Zacks Rank of 2 at present, has an estimated long-term growth rate of 13.3%. ECL’s earnings surpassed estimates in each of the trailing four quarters, with the average surprise being 1.7%.
Ecolab’s shares have rallied 33.8% against the industry’s 9.3% decline in the past year.
Boston Scientific reported first-quarter 2024 adjusted EPS of 56 cents, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 9.8%. Revenues of $3.86 billion surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 4.9%. It currently carries a Zacks Rank #2.
Boston Scientific has a long-term estimated growth rate of 12.5%. BSX’s earnings surpassed estimates in all the trailing four quarters, the average surprise being 7.5%.
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Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc. (PACB) : Free Stock Analysis Report
