Insider Selling: Pacira BioSciences (NASDAQ:PCRX) SVP Sells $217,920.00 in Stock

Key Points

• Pacira BioSciences SVP Lauren Riker sold 6,000 shares for approximately $217,920 under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan, reducing her ownership by 8.79% to 62,284 shares.
• Viatris agreed to acquire Pacira for $36.50 per share in cash, valuing the company at about $1.65 billion; analysts generally view the stock’s upside as capped near the offer price absent a competing bid.
• Pacira’s latest quarterly results exceeded expectations, with $0.73 in EPS and $192.4 million in revenue, while analyst sentiment remains mixed overall at an average “Hold” rating and a $33.33 price target.

Pacira BioSciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:PCRX - Get Free Report) SVP Lauren Riker sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.32, for a total value of $217,920.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 62,284 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,262,154.88. This trade represents a 8.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Pacira BioSciences Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of NASDAQ:PCRX traded down $0.08 during trading on Friday, hitting $36.31. 4,689,955 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,974,222. 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 company has a 50-day moving average price of $25.56 and a 200-day moving average price of $24.59. Pacira BioSciences, Inc. has a 52 week low of $18.80 and a 52 week high of $36.46. The company has a market cap of $1.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 103.75 and a beta of 0.25.

Pacira BioSciences (NASDAQ:PCRX - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported $0.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.08. Pacira BioSciences had a return on equity of 9.68% and a net margin of 1.96%. The business had revenue of $192.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $191.06 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.74 EPS. Pacira BioSciences's revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Pacira BioSciences, Inc. will post 1.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on PCRX shares. Wall Street Zen raised Pacira BioSciences from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, September 26th. Weiss Ratings raised Pacira BioSciences from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Pacira BioSciences from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $36.50 price objective for the company in a report on Thursday. Zacks Research lowered Pacira BioSciences from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Leerink Partners began coverage on Pacira BioSciences in a research note on Wednesday, September 9th. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $28.00 target price on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Pacira BioSciences has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $33.33.

Pacira BioSciences News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Pacira BioSciences this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Viatris agreed to buy Pacira for $36.50 per share in cash, valuing the equity at approximately $1.65 billion. The transaction gives shareholders a defined exit price and is expected to close by the end of 2026, subject to customary conditions. Viatris acquisition announcement
• Positive Sentiment: Viatris will add Pacira’s marketed non-opioid pain therapies, EXPAREL and ZILRETTA, along with a clinical-stage gene therapy candidate. Viatris expects the deal to expand its pain portfolio and be immediately accretive to its financial guidance metrics.
• Neutral Sentiment: RBC said a superior competing bid is unlikely, reducing the prospect of a higher offer but also lowering takeover uncertainty. The stock’s upside is therefore largely capped near the $36.50 consideration unless another bidder emerges. RBC superior bid analysis
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst actions largely reflect the announced deal: JPMorgan upgraded PCRX to neutral, while RBC and Truist raised targets to $36.50 and maintained sector perform or hold ratings. HC Wainwright maintained neutral with a $36.50 target, and Jefferies kept hold with a $36.00 target.
• Negative Sentiment: Several shareholder-rights law firms are investigating whether Pacira’s board obtained fair value and conducted an adequate sale process. These investigations could create legal or procedural distractions, although no wrongdoing has been established. Shareholder investigation

Institutional Trading of Pacira BioSciences

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of PCRX. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings 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 valued at $46,572,000 after buying an additional 110,584 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of Pacira BioSciences by 17.8% in 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 in the last quarter. Gagnon Securities LLC increased its holdings in Pacira BioSciences by 11.5% during the fourth quarter. Gagnon Securities LLC now owns 501,211 shares of the company's stock worth $12,971,000 after buying an additional 51,494 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in Pacira BioSciences during the second quarter worth $7,532,000. Finally, Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Pacira BioSciences by 7.5% during the first quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 331,300 shares of the company's stock worth $7,487,000 after acquiring an additional 23,100 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.73% of the company's stock.

Pacira BioSciences Company Profile

Pacira BioSciences, Inc is a specialty pharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing non-opioid pain-management products. The company's portfolio is designed to help manage acute and chronic pain while reducing reliance on traditional opioid therapies.

Its principal product is EXPAREL, an extended-release formulation of bupivacaine used to provide postsurgical pain relief. Pacira also markets ZILRETTA, an extended-release corticosteroid injection for osteoarthritis-related knee pain, and the iovera° system, a handheld cryoanalgesia device intended to temporarily block peripheral nerves and provide targeted pain relief.

Originally known as Pacira Pharmaceuticals, the company adopted the name Pacira BioSciences in 2018 to reflect its broader focus on innovative therapies and technologies.

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