Critical Survey: Pacific Biosciences of California (NASDAQ:PACB) and Champions Oncology (NASDAQ:CSBR)

Pacific Biosciences of California (NASDAQ:PACB) and Champions Oncology (NASDAQ:CSBR) are both small-cap healthcare companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, earnings, profitability, risk, dividends, institutional ownership and valuation.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Pacific Biosciences of California and Champions Oncology”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Pacific Biosciences of California	$160.01 million	2.30	-$546.38 million	($0.43)	-2.76
Champions Oncology	$59.42 million	1.21	-$1.17 million	($0.08)	-64.88

Champions Oncology has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Pacific Biosciences of California. Champions Oncology 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.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Pacific Biosciences of California	-82.49%	-1,043.14%	-19.28%
Champions Oncology	-1.87%	-27.48%	-3.84%

Institutional and Insider Ownership

41.3% of Champions Oncology shares are held by institutional investors. 3.7% of Pacific Biosciences of California shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 46.4% of Champions Oncology shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings for Pacific Biosciences of California and Champions Oncology, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Pacific Biosciences of California	2	2	1	0	1.80
Champions Oncology	1	0	0	0	1.00

Pacific Biosciences of California presently has a consensus target price of $1.83, indicating a potential upside of 54.71%. Given Pacific Biosciences of California’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Pacific Biosciences of California is more favorable than Champions Oncology.

Risk & Volatility

Pacific Biosciences of California has a beta of 2.31, suggesting that its share price is 131% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Champions Oncology has a beta of 0.4, suggesting that its share price is 60% less volatile than the S&P 500.

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.

About Champions Oncology

Champions Oncology, Inc. engages in the development and sale of technology solutions and products to personalize the development and use of oncology drugs. Its technology platform, TumorGraft, is a novel approach to personalizing cancer care based upon the implantation of human tumors in immune-deficient mice. It uses its technology to offer solutions to Translational Oncology Solutions, which includes pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies; and Personalized Oncology, which assists physicians in developing personalized treatment options for their cancer patients. The company was founded by James M. Martell and David Sidransky on June 4, 1985 and is headquartered in Hackensack, NJ.