NEW YORK, Oct 26 (Reuters) - Pacific Biosciences of California Inc (PACB), which designs machines to speed up DNA sequencing in labs, priced shares in its initial public offering at the midpoint of the expected range on Tuesday, according to an underwriter.
The company sold 12.5 million shares for $16 each, raising about $200 million. It had planned to sell shares for $15 to $17 each.
Menlo Park, California-based Pacific Biosciences sells equipment that can be used for clinical, agricultural and drug research, food safety, biofuels and biosecurity applications.
The company has never been profitable and all of its revenue to date has come from government grants. Pacific Biosciences posted a net loss of $63.04 million on revenue of $1.17 million in the six months ended June 30.
Pacific Biosciences said it had a backlog of orders worth $15 million as of June 30. The U.S. Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute and Monsanto Co (MON) are among those that have ordered Pacific Biosciences equipment.
Underwriters were led by JPMorgan, Morgan Stanley, Deutsche Bank Securities and Piper Jaffray. The shares are expected to begin trading on the Nasdaq on Wednesday under the symbol "PACB."‹
On September 20, 2011, Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc. (the “Company”) implemented a reduction in its workforce of approximately 130 employees, or approximately 28% of its total workforce. The actions taken were in consideration of uncertainties associated with the economic environment and to position the Company for long-term success. The Company’s current infrastructure was staffed to support a faster adoption rate for its products. The reduction implemented will allow the Company to continue support of its growing customer base with improved service and continued product enhancements, while at the same time conserving cash.
The share price is down 75% from the Oct 2010 IPO (#msg-55970244).