Pacira BioSciences (NASDAQ:PCRX) Upgraded at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Pacira BioSciences (NASDAQ:PCRX) from an underweight rating to a neutral rating in a report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has $36.50 price target on the stock.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on PCRX. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Pacira BioSciences from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $36.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Thursday. Leerink Partners started coverage on shares of Pacira BioSciences in a research report on Wednesday, September 9th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $28.00 price objective on the stock. Zacks Research lowered shares of Pacira BioSciences from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday, October 5th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Pacira BioSciences from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Pacira BioSciences from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 16th. 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Pacira BioSciences presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $33.33.

Pacira BioSciences Stock Performance

Shares of PCRX opened at $36.31 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $25.56 and a 200-day simple moving average of $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. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.45 billion, a PE ratio of 103.75 and a beta of 0.25. Pacira BioSciences has a 1 year low of $18.80 and a 1 year high of $36.46.

Pacira BioSciences (NASDAQ:PCRX) last announced 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 business had revenue of $192.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $191.06 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.74 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Pacira BioSciences will post 1.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Pacira BioSciences

In related news, SVP Lauren Riker sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.32, for a total value 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 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 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 owned 216,384 shares in the company, valued at $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 owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of PCRX. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC grew its position in shares of Pacira BioSciences by 8.6% in the 2nd quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 43,764 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,110,000 after buying an additional 3,482 shares during the last quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Pacira BioSciences during the 2nd quarter worth $213,000. Amundi lifted its position in Pacira BioSciences by 16.2% in the second quarter. Amundi now owns 15,894 shares of the company’s stock valued at $403,000 after acquiring an additional 2,210 shares during the last quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al purchased a new stake in Pacira BioSciences in the second quarter valued at $851,000. Finally, Three Seasons Wealth LLC lifted its position in Pacira BioSciences by 43.6% in the second quarter. Three Seasons Wealth LLC now owns 62,942 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,597,000 after acquiring an additional 19,107 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.73% of the company’s stock.

Pacira BioSciences News Roundup

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.