Pacific Biosciences stock rockets ahead of earnings, after Softbank makes $900 million investment MarketWatch 2/10/2021
MARKET PULSE
Shares of Pacific Biosciences of California Inc. shot up 22.3% toward a record in morning trading Wednesday, ahead of the genetic analysis company s fourth-quarter report due out after the closing bell, after the announcement that Japan-based Softbank Group Corp. invested $900 million in the company. The stock has now soared 230.0% over the past three months and skyrocketed 1,051.7% over the past year. In comparison, the iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF has advanced 39.7% over the past 12 months and the S&P 500 has gained 16.5%. The company said Softbank s investment was in the form of convertible senior notes, which will mature in February 2028, and will have an initial conversion price of $43.50, or 10% above Tuesday s closing price of $39.54. We believe that PacBio s HiFi sequencing will be the de facto standard tool for populatio