Pacific Biosciences of California (PACB) Competitors

Harvard Bioscience (NASDAQ:HBIO) and Pacific Biosciences of California (NASDAQ:PACB) are both small-cap computer and technology companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, valuation, profitability, earnings, media sentiment, dividends, analyst recommendations, community ranking and institutional ownership.

Is HBIO or PACB more profitable?

Harvard Bioscience has a net margin of -14.57% compared to Pacific Biosciences of California's net margin of -200.40%. Harvard Bioscience's return on equity of -4.64% beat Pacific Biosciences of California's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Harvard Bioscience	-14.57%	-4.64%	-2.40%
Pacific Biosciences of California	-200.40%	-42.89%	-14.77%

Does the MarketBeat Community favor HBIO or PACB?

Pacific Biosciences of California received 84 more outperform votes than Harvard Bioscience when rated by MarketBeat users. However, 71.79% of users gave Harvard Bioscience an outperform vote while only 66.42% of users gave Pacific Biosciences of California an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
Harvard Bioscience	Outperform Votes 369 71.79%	Underperform Votes 145 28.21%
Pacific Biosciences of California	Outperform Votes 453 66.42%	Underperform Votes 229 33.58%

Which has better earnings and valuation, HBIO or PACB?

Harvard Bioscience has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Pacific Biosciences of California. Harvard Bioscience 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.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Harvard Bioscience	$94.14M	0.18	-$3.41M	-$0.29	-1.36
Pacific Biosciences of California	$154.01M	2.46	-$308.65M	-$1.64	-0.77

Does the media favor HBIO or PACB?

In the previous week, Pacific Biosciences of California had 3 more articles in the media than Harvard Bioscience. MarketBeat recorded 15 mentions for Pacific Biosciences of California and 12 mentions for Harvard Bioscience. Pacific Biosciences of California's average media sentiment score of 0.18 beat Harvard Bioscience's score of -0.02 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	1 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	5 Neutral mention(s)	3 Negative mention(s)	1 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral
Pacific Biosciences of California	0 Very Positive mention(s)	2 Positive mention(s)	8 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral

Which has more risk & volatility, HBIO or PACB?

Harvard Bioscience has a beta of 1.47, indicating that its share price is 47% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Pacific Biosciences of California has a beta of 2.04, indicating that its share price is 104% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Do analysts recommend HBIO or PACB?

Harvard Bioscience currently has a consensus price target of $4.50, suggesting a potential upside of 1,039.24%. Pacific Biosciences of California has a consensus price target of $2.46, suggesting a potential upside of 93.57%. Given Harvard Bioscience's higher probable upside, 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)	6 Hold rating(s)	7 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.54

Do institutionals and insiders hold more shares of HBIO or PACB?

80.9% of Harvard Bioscience shares are held by institutional investors. 9.0% of Harvard Bioscience shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 2.4% of Pacific Biosciences of California shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Harvard Bioscience and Pacific Biosciences of California tied by winning 9 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.