Piper Jaffray analyst William Quirk upgraded Pacific Biosciences of California (PACB) to Overweight from Neutral with an unchanged price target of $8.

The analyst's Sequel II checks imply 36 to 42 placements in Q3, above his original 35 estimate. The market has been preoccupied with concerns about the Illumina (ILMN) deal falling through, and Pacific's valuation does not reflect the Sequel II launch, Quirk tells investors in a research note. If the deal fails, he believes Pacific Biosciences should be valued at seven times estimated 2020 revenue, or just under $8 per share.

The stock closed Monday at $5.13. The analyst cites "strong" channel checks and the current valuation for his upgrade to Overweight.