Pacira BioSciences (NASDAQ:PCRX) Raised to Strong-Buy at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded Pacira BioSciences to “strong buy” from “buy,” although the broader analyst consensus remains “Hold,” with a $30.14 average price target.
• Pacira reported quarterly EPS of $0.73, beating expectations of $0.65, while revenue rose 6.2% year over year to $192.4 million.
• The stock opened at $25.12, compared with a 12-month range of $18.80 to $27.66; institutional investors own a substantial 99.73% of outstanding shares.

Pacira BioSciences (NASDAQ:PCRX - Get Free Report) was upgraded by research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report issued on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on shares of Pacira BioSciences from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Pacira BioSciences from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 16th. Needham & Company LLC boosted their price objective on shares of Pacira BioSciences from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Leerink Partners started coverage on shares of Pacira BioSciences in a research note on Wednesday, September 9th. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $28.00 price objective for the company. Finally, HC Wainwright reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $38.00 target price on shares of Pacira BioSciences in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $30.14.

Pacira BioSciences Price Performance

PCRX opened at $25.12 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $25.32 and a 200-day moving average price of $24.25. Pacira BioSciences has a 12-month low of $18.80 and a 12-month high of $27.66. The company has a current ratio of 5.04, a quick ratio of 3.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 71.77 and a beta of 0.26.

Pacira BioSciences (NASDAQ:PCRX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported $0.73 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $192.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $191.06 million. Pacira BioSciences had a return on equity of 9.68% and a net margin of 1.96%.The company's revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.74 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Pacira BioSciences will post 1.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Pacira BioSciences

In related news, insider Jonathan Slonin sold 3,040 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.23, for a total transaction of $70,619.20. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 216,384 shares in the company, valued at $5,026,600.32. This trade represents a 1.39% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 6.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Pacira BioSciences

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Pacira BioSciences by 5.7% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,060,597 shares of the company's stock worth $46,572,000 after buying an additional 110,584 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of Pacira BioSciences by 17.8% during the second quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 563,458 shares of the company's stock valued at $14,295,000 after buying an additional 85,075 shares during the period. Gagnon Securities LLC raised its holdings in shares of Pacira BioSciences by 11.5% during the fourth quarter. Gagnon Securities LLC now owns 501,211 shares of the company's stock valued at $12,971,000 after acquiring an additional 51,494 shares in the last quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Pacira BioSciences during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $7,976,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in shares of Pacira BioSciences during the second quarter valued at approximately $7,532,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.73% of the company's stock.

About Pacira BioSciences

Pacira BioSciences, Inc is a pharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing non-opioid pain-management products. The company's therapies are intended to help manage acute and chronic pain while supporting efforts to reduce reliance on opioid medications.

Pacira's principal product is EXPAREL, an extended-release formulation of bupivacaine used for postsurgical pain management and regional analgesia. The company also markets ZILRETTA, an extended-release corticosteroid injection for osteoarthritis knee pain, and iovera, a device-based treatment that uses targeted cold therapy to temporarily block peripheral nerves and reduce pain.

Founded as Pacira Pharmaceuticals, the company changed its name to Pacira BioSciences in 2020 to reflect its broader focus on innovative pain therapies.

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