Pacific Biosciences of California (PACB) Competitors

Harvard Bioscience (NASDAQ:HBIO) and Pacific Biosciences of California (NASDAQ:PACB) are both small-cap life sciences tools & services companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their risk, valuation, institutional ownership, earnings, media sentiment, dividends, profitability and analyst recommendations.

Which has more volatility and risk, HBIO or PACB?

Harvard Bioscience has a beta of 1.56, meaning that its stock price is 56% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Pacific Biosciences of California has a beta of 2.1, meaning that its stock price is 110% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Does the media refer more to HBIO or PACB?

In the previous week, Harvard Bioscience had 28 more articles in the media than Pacific Biosciences of California. MarketBeat recorded 36 mentions for Harvard Bioscience and 8 mentions for Pacific Biosciences of California. Pacific Biosciences of California's average media sentiment score of 0.05 beat Harvard Bioscience's score of -0.13 indicating that Pacific Biosciences of California is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Harvard Bioscience	2 Very Positive mention(s)	4 Positive mention(s)	12 Neutral mention(s)	9 Negative mention(s)	8 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral
Pacific Biosciences of California	0 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	5 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral

Which has higher earnings and valuation, HBIO or PACB?

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

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Harvard Bioscience	$94.14M	0.21	-$12.40M	-$1.32	-0.34
Pacific Biosciences of California	$154.01M	2.42	-$309.85M	-$2.79	-0.44

Is HBIO or PACB more profitable?

Harvard Bioscience has a net margin of -63.51% compared to Pacific Biosciences of California's net margin of -430.93%. Harvard Bioscience's return on equity of -4.96% beat Pacific Biosciences of California's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Harvard Bioscience	-63.51%	-4.96%	-2.24%
Pacific Biosciences of California	-430.93%	-52.07%	-15.82%

Do analysts prefer HBIO or PACB?

Harvard Bioscience presently has a consensus price target of $3.00, indicating a potential upside of 575.98%. Pacific Biosciences of California has a consensus price target of $2.06, indicating a potential upside of 66.22%. Given Harvard Bioscience's stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, research analysts clearly believe Harvard Bioscience is more favorable than Pacific Biosciences of California.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Harvard Bioscience	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	1 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.50
Pacific Biosciences of California	0 Sell rating(s)	5 Hold rating(s)	4 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.44

Do institutionals and insiders believe in HBIO or PACB?

80.9% of Harvard Bioscience shares are held by institutional investors. 9.5% of Harvard Bioscience shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 2.4% of Pacific Biosciences of California shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Harvard Bioscience beats Pacific Biosciences of California on 11 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.