Pacira BioSciences (NASDAQ:PCRX) Sets New 52-Week High - Should You Buy?

Key Points

• Pacira BioSciences reached a new 52-week high of $37.18, while shares last traded near $36.41. The stock has risen well above its 50-day and 200-day moving averages.
• Analyst sentiment is cautious: the consensus rating is “Hold”, with nine Holds, one Buy and one Sell, and an average price target of $33.33—below the current share price.
• The company exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $0.73 in EPS versus a $0.65 estimate and $192.4 million in revenue. However, insiders recently sold shares, while institutional investors own nearly all outstanding stock at 99.73%.

Pacira BioSciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:PCRX - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week high on Monday. The company traded as high as $37.18 and last traded at $36.4130, with a volume of 2,012 shares. The stock had previously closed at $36.39.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on PCRX shares. Truist Financial lowered shares of Pacira BioSciences from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $31.00 to $36.50 in a report on Friday, October 9th. Leerink Partners began coverage on shares of Pacira BioSciences in a report on Wednesday, September 9th. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $28.00 price target on the stock. Needham & Company LLC lowered shares of Pacira BioSciences from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, October 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Pacira BioSciences from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $36.50 price objective on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. Finally, HC Wainwright lowered Pacira BioSciences from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their target price for the company from $38.00 to $36.50 in a research report on Friday, October 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $33.33.

Pacira BioSciences Price Performance

The company has a 50-day moving average of $29.06 and a 200-day moving average of $24.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 103.96 and a beta of 0.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 3.94 and a current ratio of 5.04.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Jonathan Slonin sold 3,040 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.23, for a total transaction of $70,619.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 216,384 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,026,600.32. The trade was a 1.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed 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. Also, SVP Lauren Riker sold 6,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.32, for a total transaction of $217,920.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 62,284 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,262,154.88. This represents a 8.79% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 6.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in Pacira BioSciences in the 2nd quarter valued at $7,532,000. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new position in Pacira BioSciences during the second quarter valued at $6,089,000. Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new position in Pacira BioSciences during the second quarter valued at $5,076,000. PDT Partners LLC purchased a new position in Pacira BioSciences during the second quarter valued at $3,358,000. Finally, Man Group plc acquired a new stake in shares of Pacira BioSciences in the second quarter valued at about $3,181,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.73% of the company's stock.

About Pacira BioSciences

Pacira BioSciences, Inc is a specialty pharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing non-opioid pain-management and regenerative health solutions. The company's products are designed to address acute postsurgical pain and osteoarthritis-related pain while supporting efforts to reduce reliance on opioid medications.

Pacira's lead product is EXPAREL, an extended-release formulation of bupivacaine administered by injection for postsurgical pain management. The company also markets ZILRETTA, an extended-release corticosteroid injection indicated for osteoarthritis knee pain, and iovera°, a cryoanalgesia system that uses controlled cooling to temporarily block peripheral nerves and relieve pain.

Formerly known as Pacira Pharmaceuticals, the company adopted the Pacira BioSciences name to reflect its broader focus on innovative pain and regenerative-health therapies.

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