Pacira BioSciences (NASDAQ:PCRX) Stock Rating Upgraded by Zacks Research

Pacira BioSciences (NASDAQ:PCRX) was upgraded by equities researchers at Zacks Research from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a note issued to investors on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

PCRX has been the topic of a number of other reports. Barclays cut their target price on Pacira BioSciences from $27.00 to $25.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $38.00 price target on shares of Pacira BioSciences in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Pacira BioSciences from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 28th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $30.00 price objective on shares of Pacira BioSciences in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Pacira BioSciences in a report on Monday, December 29th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Pacira BioSciences currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $30.25.

Pacira BioSciences Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of PCRX stock traded up $0.23 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $23.48. 15,289 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 872,453. The company has a quick ratio of 3.28, a current ratio of 4.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $22.30 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $23.16. Pacira BioSciences has a 12-month low of $18.80 and a 12-month high of $27.64. The stock has a market cap of $950.87 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 155.41 and a beta of 0.19.

Pacira BioSciences (NASDAQ:PCRX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported $0.57 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.85 by ($0.28). Pacira BioSciences had a return on equity of 10.39% and a net margin of 0.97%.The company had revenue of $196.87 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $201.93 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.91 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Pacira BioSciences will post 2.41 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Jonathan Slonin sold 3,261 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.82, for a total transaction of $74,416.02. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 223,640 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,103,464.80. This trade represents a 1.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Lauren Riker sold 4,000 shares of Pacira BioSciences stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.81, for a total value of $83,240.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 52,313 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,088,633.53. The trade was a 7.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 6.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its holdings in Pacira BioSciences by 7.7% in the fourth quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 18,416 shares of the company’s stock worth $479,000 after purchasing an additional 1,316 shares during the last quarter. Vident Advisory LLC raised its stake in Pacira BioSciences by 15.0% during the 4th quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 23,571 shares of the company’s stock valued at $610,000 after buying an additional 3,075 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 4,167 shares during the period. XTX Topco Ltd bought a new position in shares of Pacira BioSciences during the 4th quarter valued at $2,146,000. Finally, Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 51,848 shares during the period. 99.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Pacira BioSciences

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.