Pacira BioSciences (NASDAQ:PCRX) Stock Gets Downgrade from Jefferies Financial Group

Pacira BioSciences (NASDAQ:PCRX) was downgraded by investment analysts at Jefferies Financial Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report issued on Thursday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. They presently have a $36.00 target price on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group’s price target would suggest a potential downside of 0.85% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other research analysts have also issued reports on PCRX. Zacks Research lowered shares of Pacira BioSciences from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday, October 5th. Needham & Company LLC cut shares of Pacira BioSciences from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday. Oppenheimer assumed coverage on shares of Pacira BioSciences in a research report on Wednesday, September 23rd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $32.00 price objective for the company. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Pacira BioSciences from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 16th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Pacira BioSciences from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $33.33.

Pacira BioSciences Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of PCRX stock traded down $0.08 on Thursday, hitting $36.31. The company had a trading volume of 4,689,955 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,974,222. The firm has a market cap of $1.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 103.75 and a beta of 0.25. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $25.56 and its two-hundred day moving average is $24.59. 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 has a twelve month low of $18.80 and a twelve month high of $36.46.

Pacira BioSciences (NASDAQ:PCRX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported $0.73 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.08. Pacira BioSciences had a return on equity of 9.68% and a net margin of 1.96%. The company had revenue of $192.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $191.06 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.74 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Pacira BioSciences will post 1.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Pacira BioSciences

In other Pacira BioSciences news, SVP Lauren Riker sold 6,000 shares of the 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 transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 62,284 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,262,154.88. This represents a 8.79% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Jonathan Slonin sold 3,040 shares of the 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 in the company, valued at $5,026,600.32. The trade was 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 insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Pacira BioSciences

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC bought a new stake in Pacira BioSciences in the second quarter valued at $2,399,000. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC bought a new position in shares of Pacira BioSciences during the 2nd quarter worth about $2,369,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in shares of Pacira BioSciences during the 2nd quarter worth about $7,532,000. Gagnon Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Pacira BioSciences by 22.3% in the 4th quarter. Gagnon Advisors LLC now owns 260,908 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,752,000 after buying an additional 47,506 shares during the period. Finally, Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Pacira BioSciences by 31.0% in the 2nd quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 203,520 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,163,000 after buying an additional 48,124 shares during the period. 99.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Pacira BioSciences News Summary

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

Pacira BioSciences Company Profile

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.