Pacira BioSciences’ (PCRX) “Hold” Rating Reaffirmed at Needham & Company LLC

Pacira BioSciences (NASDAQ:PCRX)‘s stock had its “hold” rating reissued by Needham & Company LLC in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports.

A number of other equities research analysts have also commented on PCRX. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Pacira BioSciences from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 16th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Pacira BioSciences from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, September 26th. Leerink Partners initiated coverage on Pacira BioSciences in a research note on Wednesday, September 9th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $28.00 price target on the stock. Oppenheimer started coverage on Pacira BioSciences in a report on Wednesday, September 23rd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $32.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price objective on Pacira BioSciences from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $30.29.

Pacira BioSciences Stock Up 44.0%

NASDAQ PCRX traded up $11.09 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $36.28. 18,125,437 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 749,122. The company’s 50-day moving average is $25.18 and its two-hundred day moving average is $24.41. Pacira BioSciences has a one year low of $18.80 and a one year high of $36.33. 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 company has a market capitalization of $1.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 103.67 and a beta of 0.25.

Pacira BioSciences (NASDAQ:PCRX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported $0.73 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $192.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $191.06 million. Pacira BioSciences had a net margin of 1.96% and a return on equity of 9.68%. The business’s revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.74 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Pacira BioSciences will post 1.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Jonathan Slonin sold 3,040 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.23, for a total value of $70,619.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 216,384 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,026,600.32. This trade represents a 1.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 6.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Pacira BioSciences

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PCRX. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Pacira BioSciences by 5.7% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,060,597 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,572,000 after buying an additional 110,584 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in Pacira BioSciences by 17.8% during the second quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 563,458 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,295,000 after acquiring an additional 85,075 shares in the last quarter. Gagnon Securities LLC boosted its position in Pacira BioSciences by 11.5% during the fourth quarter. Gagnon Securities LLC now owns 501,211 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,971,000 after purchasing an additional 51,494 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in Pacira BioSciences during the second quarter valued at approximately $7,532,000. Finally, Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Pacira BioSciences by 7.5% during the first quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 331,300 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,487,000 after purchasing an additional 23,100 shares during the last quarter. 99.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting Pacira BioSciences

Here are the key news stories impacting Pacira BioSciences this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Viatris agreed to acquire Pacira for $36.50 per share in cash, valuing the company at approximately $1.65 billion. The deal gives shareholders a defined cash exit and adds Pacira’s EXPAREL and ZILRETTA non-opioid pain medicines to Viatris’ portfolio. The transaction is expected to close by the end of 2026, subject to customary conditions and approvals. Viatris acquisition announcement
• Positive Sentiment: Viatris said the acquisition will strengthen its U.S. innovative-medicines and global research capabilities, expand the reach of Pacira’s products, and complement its fast-acting meloxicam opportunity. These anticipated synergies helped support investor interest. Viatris to buy Pacira
• Neutral Sentiment: Pacira’s shares are trading close to the $36.50 offer, leaving limited deal-related upside unless another bidder emerges or Viatris raises its proposal. Trading was temporarily halted pending the acquisition news. Pacira to be acquired by Viatris
• Neutral Sentiment: Halper Sadeh LLC announced an investigation into whether Pacira’s board obtained a fair price and adequately represented shareholders. Such investigations can create deal-process uncertainty but do not necessarily indicate that the transaction will fail. Shareholder investigation
• Negative Sentiment: Before the takeover announcement, Zacks downgraded PCRX to “strong sell,” while Truist raised its target to $31 but maintained a price target below the offer price. Those views are now less relevant to the stock’s near-term valuation because the acquisition establishes a cash reference price.

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.