Pacira BioSciences (NASDAQ:PCRX) Shares Gap Up Following Analyst Upgrade

Key Points

• Needham & Company raised its price target on Pacira from $30 to $32 and kept a Buy rating, prompting a pre-market gap up (opened $26.90 vs. prior close $25.49).
• Analyst coverage is mixed — three Buys, two Holds and one Sell — leaving a consensus Hold with an average price target of $30.75.
• Insider selling has been notable: CFO Shawn Cross sold 12,941 shares at about $25.16, and insiders sold 32,261 shares in the past three months, representing roughly 6.4% insider ownership.

Shares of Pacira BioSciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:PCRX - Get Free Report) gapped up before the market opened on Friday after Needham & Company LLC raised their price target on the stock from $30.00 to $32.00. The stock had previously closed at $25.49, but opened at $26.90. Needham & Company LLC currently has a buy rating on the stock. Pacira BioSciences shares last traded at $25.1160, with a volume of 436,309 shares traded.

Several other research firms have also recently commented on PCRX. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Pacira BioSciences from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, February 28th. HC Wainwright reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $38.00 price target on shares of Pacira BioSciences in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Zacks Research raised Pacira BioSciences from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on Pacira BioSciences from $27.00 to $25.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Pacira BioSciences has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $30.75.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Shawn Cross sold 12,941 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.16, for a total value of $325,595.56. Following the completion of 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 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 value of $74,416.02. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 223,640 shares of the company's stock, valued at $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 three months, insiders sold 32,261 shares of company stock valued at $785,850. 6.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Trending Headlines about Pacira BioSciences

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

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 beat — Pacira reported $0.60 EPS vs. $0.55 expected and revenue of $177.4M vs. $171.8M, with revenue up ~5% year-over-year. The quarter showed commercial momentum that supports near-term cash flow and valuation. MarketBeat Q1 Results
• Positive Sentiment: Operational wins — Management highlighted EXAPREL (EXAPREL/EXPAREL) volume growth (~7%) and completed enrollment in a Phase 3 registrational study for ZILRETTA in shoulder OA pain, keeping a year-end topline readout on track. These reduce clinical execution risk and support commercial growth. Press Release — Q1 Results & Programs
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrade/target lift — Needham raised its price target from $30 to $32 and kept a Buy rating, implying ~25% upside from the recent price, which likely reinforced demand from growth-oriented investors. Benzinga — Needham PT Raise
• Neutral Sentiment: FY-2026 revenue guidance set to $745M–$770M — The range is roughly in line with consensus (~$761.5M), implying management expects continued moderate growth but not a material upside surprise to consensus. This guidance reduces uncertainty but isn't a clear beat. Seeking Alpha — 2026 Guidance & Pipeline
• Neutral Sentiment: Earnings call materials available — Management commentary and the slide deck provide more color on margin trajectory, EPS outlook and product mix; useful for finer-grain modeling but no single surprise announced. Earnings Call Transcript
• Negative Sentiment: Ticker-confusion risk — A separate company (PharmaCorp, TSXV: PCRX) released acquisition news that could create short-term retail/ticker confusion and misdirected orders for Pacira NASDAQ: PCRX, potentially adding volatility. Investors should verify filings are for Pacira (NASDAQ). GlobeNewswire — PharmaCorp Announcement

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its stake in shares of Pacira BioSciences by 8.2% in the first quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 19,922 shares of the company's stock valued at $457,000 after purchasing an additional 1,506 shares in the last quarter. Greenwood Capital Associates LLC raised its stake in shares of Pacira BioSciences by 18.0% in the first quarter. Greenwood Capital Associates LLC now owns 22,795 shares of the company's stock valued at $515,000 after purchasing an additional 3,471 shares in the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Pacira BioSciences by 25.7% in the first quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 22,574 shares of the company's stock valued at $510,000 after purchasing an additional 4,616 shares in the last quarter. Foster & Motley Inc. raised its stake in shares of Pacira BioSciences by 38.8% in the first quarter. Foster & Motley Inc. now owns 57,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,288,000 after purchasing an additional 15,943 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new position in shares of Pacira BioSciences in the first quarter valued at $411,000. 99.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Pacira BioSciences Stock Down 2.6%

The business has a 50 day moving average of $23.31 and a 200 day moving average of $23.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 4.54 and a quick ratio of 3.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $976.25 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 168.17 and a beta of 0.19.

Pacira BioSciences (NASDAQ:PCRX - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported $0.57 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.85 by ($0.28). The firm had revenue of $196.87 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $201.93 million. Pacira BioSciences had a net margin of 0.97% and a return on equity of 10.39%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.91 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Pacira BioSciences, Inc. will post 1.85 EPS for the current year.

Pacira BioSciences Company Profile

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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