Pacira BioSciences (NASDAQ:PCRX) Rating Lowered to Hold at HC Wainwright

Pacira BioSciences (NASDAQ:PCRX) was downgraded by investment analysts at HC Wainwright from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued to investors on Friday, Marketbeat.com reports. They currently have a $36.50 target price on the stock, down from their previous target price of $38.00. HC Wainwright’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 0.52% from the company’s current price.

PCRX has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Zacks Research downgraded Pacira BioSciences from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday, October 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Pacira BioSciences from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $36.50 price target on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Needham & Company LLC cut shares of Pacira BioSciences from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on shares of Pacira BioSciences from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded Pacira BioSciences from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $33.33.

Pacira BioSciences Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of PCRX traded down $0.08 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $36.31. The company had a trading volume of 4,689,955 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,974,222. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $25.56 and its 200-day simple moving average is $24.59. The company has a quick ratio of 3.94, a current ratio of 5.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. Pacira BioSciences has a 1-year low of $18.80 and a 1-year high of $36.46. The stock has a market cap of $1.45 billion, a PE ratio of 103.75 and a beta of 0.25.

Pacira BioSciences (NASDAQ:PCRX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported $0.73 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.08. Pacira BioSciences had a net margin of 1.96% and a return on equity of 9.68%. The firm had revenue of $192.40 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $191.06 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.74 earnings per share. Pacira BioSciences’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Pacira BioSciences will post 1.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Pacira BioSciences

In other news, SVP Lauren Riker sold 6,000 shares of Pacira BioSciences stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the senior vice president owned 62,284 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,262,154.88. The trade was a 8.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Jonathan Slonin sold 3,040 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.23, for a total value of $70,619.20. Following the transaction, the insider owned 216,384 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,026,600.32. This represents a 1.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 6.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Global Retirement Partners LLC acquired a new position in Pacira BioSciences in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $51,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Pacira BioSciences during the 1st quarter valued at $46,000. State of Wyoming purchased a new stake in shares of Pacira BioSciences in the second quarter valued at $78,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Pacira BioSciences by 15.1% in the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 3,751 shares of the company’s stock valued at $85,000 after purchasing an additional 492 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Keating Financial Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Pacira BioSciences in the second quarter worth $110,000. 99.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Pacira BioSciences News

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

About Pacira BioSciences

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.