Friday, March 21, 2014

Seeking Alpha: Pacific Biosciences Looking To Carve Out Its Niche

High-end sequencing company Pacific Biosciences (PACB) still has much left to prove. The company has done a good job of improving system performance and reliability, but the 800lb gorilla in the sequencing space, Illumina (ILMN), books more orders for both its HiSeq and MiSeq platforms in a quarter than PacBio has installed in the field. PacBio's alliance with Roche (OTCQX:RHHBY) provided a significant boost to the stock, but it has yet to be established that the company can develop systems and tests that will work in the clinical diagnostics setting.

I continue to believe that PacBio has a worthwhile future, as I believe the company can address a multibillion-dollar opportunity by targeting applications where Illumina's technology does not work as well. Microbial and plant genetics, so-called "platinum genomes", and epigenetics are all areas where PacBio's technology can play a long-term role. This is by no means a stock for the nervous or impatient investor, but I believe opportunity remains even after the large move in 2013.

Read the full article here:
Pacific Biosciences Looking To Carve Out Its Niche

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