Financial Analysis: Pacific Biosciences of California (NASDAQ:PACB) versus Beta Bionics (NASDAQ:BBNX)

Beta Bionics (NASDAQ:BBNX) and Pacific Biosciences of California (NASDAQ:PACB) are both small-cap medical companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, profitability, risk, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, dividends and earnings.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Beta Bionics and Pacific Biosciences of California”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Beta Bionics	$110.24 million	6.77	-$73.20 million	($1.51)	-11.10
Pacific Biosciences of California	$160.03 million	3.26	-$546.38 million	($0.43)	-3.91

Beta Bionics has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Pacific Biosciences of California. Beta Bionics is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Pacific Biosciences of California, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Volatility and Risk

Beta Bionics has a beta of 3.02, meaning that its share price is 202% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Pacific Biosciences of California has a beta of 2.29, meaning that its share price is 129% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Beta Bionics and Pacific Biosciences of California’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Beta Bionics	-60.27%	-23.00%	-20.55%
Pacific Biosciences of California	-80.35%	-571.06%	-18.82%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and recommmendations for Beta Bionics and Pacific Biosciences of California, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Beta Bionics	1	3	6	1	2.64
Pacific Biosciences of California	2	2	1	0	1.80

Beta Bionics presently has a consensus target price of $19.70, indicating a potential upside of 17.54%. Pacific Biosciences of California has a consensus target price of $1.83, indicating a potential upside of 9.13%. Given Beta Bionics’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, research analysts plainly believe Beta Bionics is more favorable than Pacific Biosciences of California.

Summary

Beta Bionics beats Pacific Biosciences of California on 9 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Beta Bionics

Beta Bionics, Inc. is a commercial-stage medical device company. It engages in the design, development, and commercialization of solutions for insulin-requiring people with diabetes. The company was founded by Edward R. Damiano on October 21, 2015 and is headquartered in Irvine, CA.

About Pacific Biosciences of California

Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc. designs, develops, and manufactures sequencing solution to resolve genetically complex problems. The company provides sequencing systems; consumable products, including single molecule real-time (SMRT) technology; long-red sequencing; and various reagent kits designed for specific workflow, such as preparation kit to convert DNA into SMRTbell double-stranded DNA library formats, including molecular biology reagents, such as ligase, buffers, and exonucleases. It also offers binding kits, such as modified DNA polymerase used to bind SMRTbell libraries to the polymerase in preparation for sequencing; and sequencing kits comprise reagents required for on-instrument, real-time sequencing, including the phospholinked nucleotides. In addition, it provides revio system + sequel systems which conduct, monitor, and analyze single-molecule biochemical reactions in real time; SBB short-read sequencing; onso instrument conducts, monitors, and analyzes SBB biochemical reactions; and SBB consumable, including flow cells, clustering, and sequencing reagent kits. The company serves academic and governmental research institutions; commercial testing and service laboratories; genome centers; public health labs, hospitals and clinical research institutes, and contract research organizations; pharmaceutical companies; and agricultural companies. It markets its products through a sales force and distribution partners in Asia, Australia, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Latin America. It has a development and commercialization agreement with Invitae Corporation; and a collaboration with Radboud University Medical to explore genetic causes of rare and genetic diseases. The company was formerly known as Nanofluidics, Inc. and changed its name to Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc. in 2005. Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc. was incorporated in 2000 and is headquartered in Menlo Park, California.