Zacks Research Downgrades Pacira BioSciences (NASDAQ:PCRX) to Strong Sell

Pacira BioSciences (NASDAQ:PCRX) was downgraded by stock analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report issued on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

PCRX has been the topic of a number of other research reports. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and issued a $38.00 price objective on shares of Pacira BioSciences in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Wall Street Zen cut Pacira BioSciences from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 28th. Barclays started coverage on shares of Pacira BioSciences in a report on Tuesday, December 9th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $27.00 price objective for the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Pacira BioSciences in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $30.00 price target on shares of Pacira BioSciences in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $30.75.

Pacira BioSciences Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of NASDAQ PCRX opened at $22.44 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $908.60 million, a P/E ratio of 149.60 and a beta of 0.21. Pacira BioSciences has a one year low of $18.80 and a one year high of $27.64. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $22.12 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $23.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 4.54 and a quick ratio of 3.28.

Pacira BioSciences (NASDAQ:PCRX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported $0.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.85 by ($0.28). The business had revenue of $196.87 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $201.93 million. Pacira BioSciences had a net margin of 0.97% and a return on equity of 10.39%. Pacira BioSciences’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. As a group, analysts expect that Pacira BioSciences will post 2.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Pacira BioSciences news, SVP Lauren Riker sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.81, for a total transaction of $83,240.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 52,313 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,088,633.53. This trade represents a 7.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 6.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Pacira BioSciences

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of PCRX. Vident Advisory LLC raised its position in shares of Pacira BioSciences by 15.0% in the 4th quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 23,571 shares of the company’s stock worth $610,000 after purchasing an additional 3,075 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in Pacira BioSciences by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 227,605 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,890,000 after purchasing an additional 4,167 shares during the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd bought a new stake in Pacira BioSciences during the 4th quarter valued at about $2,146,000. Millennium Management LLC increased its stake in Pacira BioSciences by 73.3% during the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 122,606 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,173,000 after purchasing an additional 51,848 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC raised its holdings in Pacira BioSciences by 3.2% in the fourth 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. 99.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.