Pacira BioSciences (NASDAQ:PCRX) Share Price Passes Below Fifty Day Moving Average - Here's Why

Key Points

• Pacira BioSciences shares fell below their 50-day moving average, trading as low as $22.47 before last changing hands at $23.48. The move comes as the stock hovers near both its 50-day and 200-day moving averages.
• Analysts remain mixed on the stock, with a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $29.40. Recent actions included a Needham price-target increase to $32 and a Zacks upgrade to Hold, while Barclays trimmed its target to $25.
• The company beat revenue expectations but missed EPS by a penny in its latest quarterly report, posting $177.38 million in revenue and $0.60 EPS. Insider selling and heavy institutional ownership were also highlighted, with hedge funds and other institutions holding 99.73% of shares.

Pacira BioSciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:PCRX - Get Free Report)'s stock price passed below its fifty day moving average during trading on Thursday . The stock has a fifty day moving average of $23.46 and traded as low as $22.47. Pacira BioSciences shares last traded at $23.48, with a volume of 404,074 shares trading hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on PCRX shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Pacira BioSciences from a "sell (d)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a report on Wednesday. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Pacira BioSciences from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Needham & Company LLC upped their price objective on shares of Pacira BioSciences from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Pacira BioSciences from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Pacira BioSciences from $27.00 to $25.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 26th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $29.40.

Pacira BioSciences Stock Performance

The firm's 50 day moving average is $23.46 and its two-hundred day moving average is $23.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $923.94 million, a PE ratio of 195.68 and a beta of 0.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 3.35 and a current ratio of 4.73.

Pacira BioSciences (NASDAQ:PCRX - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.61 by ($0.01). Pacira BioSciences had a return on equity of 10.24% and a net margin of 0.70%.The business had revenue of $177.38 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $171.80 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.65 earnings per share. Pacira BioSciences's quarterly revenue was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Pacira BioSciences, Inc. will post 1.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Pacira BioSciences

In other Pacira BioSciences news, CFO Shawn Cross sold 12,941 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.16, for a total value of $325,595.56. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 105,341 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,650,379.56. This represents a 10.94% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Jonathan Slonin sold 3,261 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.82, for a total transaction of $74,416.02. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 223,640 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,103,464.80. This represents a 1.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 28,261 shares of company stock worth $702,610. 6.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Pacira BioSciences

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Doma Perpetual Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Pacira BioSciences by 49.7% in the 3rd quarter. Doma Perpetual Capital Management LLC now owns 2,701,324 shares of the company's stock valued at $69,613,000 after purchasing an additional 897,255 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Pacira BioSciences by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,163,473 shares of the company's stock valued at $55,751,000 after purchasing an additional 11,831 shares during the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. increased its position in shares of Pacira BioSciences by 36.1% in the 2nd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,130,733 shares of the company's stock valued at $50,925,000 after purchasing an additional 565,288 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in shares of Pacira BioSciences by 16.6% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,378,513 shares of the company's stock valued at $35,524,000 after purchasing an additional 196,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Pacira BioSciences by 49.9% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,104,796 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,454,000 after purchasing an additional 367,869 shares during the last quarter. 99.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Pacira BioSciences

Pacira BioSciences, Inc is a specialty pharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing non-opioid, non-addictive pain management and regenerative health solutions. The company's flagship product, EXPAREL, is a bupivacaine liposome injectable suspension designed to provide long-lasting postsurgical analgesia. EXPAREL is used by clinicians across a broad range of surgical procedures to reduce reliance on opioid medications and to help manage acute postoperative pain.

In addition to its marketed offering, Pacira maintains an active pipeline of investigational products aimed at addressing unmet needs in pain management and inflammation control.

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