Wall Street Zen Upgrades Pacira BioSciences (NASDAQ:PCRX) to Strong-Buy

Pacira BioSciences (NASDAQ:PCRX) was upgraded by stock analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on the stock. Leerink Partners initiated coverage on shares of Pacira BioSciences in a research report on Wednesday, September 9th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $28.00 price objective for the company. Oppenheimer began coverage on shares of Pacira BioSciences in a report on Wednesday, September 23rd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $32.00 target price on the stock. Needham & Company LLC boosted their price target on shares of Pacira BioSciences from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on shares of Pacira BioSciences from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Truist Financial began coverage on shares of Pacira BioSciences in a research report on Monday, August 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $30.00 price objective for the company. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $30.14.

Pacira BioSciences Stock Performance

NASDAQ:PCRX opened at $25.12 on Friday. Pacira BioSciences has a 12-month low of $18.80 and a 12-month high of $27.66. The company has a current ratio of 5.04, a quick ratio of 3.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $25.32 and its 200-day simple moving average is $24.27. The firm has a market cap of $1.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 71.77 and a beta of 0.26.

Pacira BioSciences (NASDAQ:PCRX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported $0.73 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.08. Pacira BioSciences had a return on equity of 9.68% and a net margin of 1.96%.The firm had revenue of $192.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $191.06 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.74 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Pacira BioSciences will post 2.03 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Pacira BioSciences

In other news, insider Jonathan Slonin sold 3,040 shares of Pacira BioSciences 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 sale, the insider directly owned 216,384 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,026,600.32. This trade represents a 1.39% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 6.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Pacira BioSciences

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Pacira BioSciences by 5.7% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,060,597 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,572,000 after purchasing an additional 110,584 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position 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 purchasing 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 worth $12,971,000 after purchasing an additional 51,494 shares in the last quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Pacira BioSciences by 7.5% in 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. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP grew its holdings in Pacira BioSciences by 59.2% in the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 300,632 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,794,000 after purchasing an additional 111,743 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.73% of the company’s stock.

Pacira BioSciences Company Profile

Pacira BioSciences, Inc is a pharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing non-opioid pain-management products. The company’s therapies are intended to help manage acute and chronic pain while supporting efforts to reduce reliance on opioid medications.

Pacira’s principal product is EXPAREL, an extended-release formulation of bupivacaine used for postsurgical pain management and regional analgesia. The company also markets ZILRETTA, an extended-release corticosteroid injection for osteoarthritis knee pain, and iovera, a device-based treatment that uses targeted cold therapy to temporarily block peripheral nerves and reduce pain.

Founded as Pacira Pharmaceuticals, the company changed its name to Pacira BioSciences in 2020 to reflect its broader focus on innovative pain therapies.