Pacira BioSciences (NASDAQ:PCRX) Upgraded to Hold at Zacks Research

Key Points

• Zacks upgraded Pacira BioSciences from "strong sell" to "hold," and the stock's consensus among analysts stands at Hold with a $30.25 average target (three Buys, two Holds, one Sell).
• Pacira missed quarterly estimates—EPS $0.57 vs. $0.85 expected and revenue $196.9M vs. $201.9M—while trading around $23.25 with a market cap near $941M and a high P/E of 155.00.
• Notable insider selling occurred recently, including Jonathan Slonin selling 3,261 shares and SVP Lauren Riker selling 4,000 shares, representing reductions in their holdings.

Pacira BioSciences (NASDAQ:PCRX - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Zacks Research from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report released on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Barclays decreased their price objective on Pacira BioSciences from $27.00 to $25.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d+)" rating on shares of Pacira BioSciences in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $30.00 price objective on shares of Pacira BioSciences in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Wall Street Zen lowered Pacira BioSciences from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, February 28th. Finally, HC Wainwright reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $38.00 price objective on shares of Pacira BioSciences in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $30.25.

Pacira BioSciences Stock Up 3.2%

Pacira BioSciences stock opened at $23.25 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 3.28 and a current ratio of 4.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $941.39 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 155.00 and a beta of 0.19. Pacira BioSciences has a fifty-two week low of $18.80 and a fifty-two week high of $27.64. The stock's fifty day moving average is $22.30 and its two-hundred day moving average is $23.16.

Pacira BioSciences (NASDAQ:PCRX - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported $0.57 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 firm's revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.91 EPS. Analysts predict that Pacira BioSciences will post 2.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Pacira BioSciences news, insider Jonathan Slonin sold 3,261 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.82, for a total value of $74,416.02. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 223,640 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,103,464.80. This trade represents a 1.44% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Lauren Riker sold 4,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.81, for a total value of $83,240.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 52,313 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,088,633.53. The trade was a 7.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 6.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Pacira BioSciences

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Inspire Investing LLC boosted its stake in Pacira BioSciences by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 17,958 shares of the company's stock worth $465,000 after buying an additional 556 shares during the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its stake in Pacira BioSciences by 175.4% in the 3rd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,132 shares of the company's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 721 shares during the last quarter. State of Wyoming boosted its stake in Pacira BioSciences by 7.0% in the 4th quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 11,155 shares of the company's stock worth $289,000 after buying an additional 728 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its stake in Pacira BioSciences by 8.0% in the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 10,604 shares of the company's stock worth $259,000 after buying an additional 785 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in Pacira BioSciences by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 33,860 shares of the company's stock worth $876,000 after buying an additional 846 shares during the last quarter. 99.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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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