Pacira BioSciences (NASDAQ:PCRX) Shares Gap Up Following Analyst Upgrade

Pacira BioSciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:PCRX)’s share price gapped up before the market opened on Friday after Needham & Company LLC raised their price target on the stock from $30.00 to $32.00. The stock had previously closed at $25.49, but opened at $26.90. Needham & Company LLC currently has a buy rating on the stock. Pacira BioSciences shares last traded at $25.1160, with a volume of 436,309 shares.

Several other research firms have also issued reports on PCRX. Wall Street Zen lowered Pacira BioSciences from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 28th. Barclays dropped their price objective on Pacira BioSciences from $27.00 to $25.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $38.00 price objective on shares of Pacira BioSciences in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Pacira BioSciences from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $30.75.

Insider Activity at Pacira BioSciences

In related news, CFO Shawn Cross sold 12,941 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.16, for a total value of $325,595.56. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 105,341 shares in the company, valued at $2,650,379.56. This trade represents a 10.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Jonathan Slonin sold 3,261 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.82, for a total value of $74,416.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 223,640 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,103,464.80. This represents a 1.44% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 32,261 shares of company stock worth $785,850 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 6.40% of the company’s stock.

Pacira BioSciences News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 beat — Pacira reported $0.60 EPS vs. $0.55 expected and revenue of $177.4M vs. $171.8M, with revenue up ~5% year-over-year. The quarter showed commercial momentum that supports near-term cash flow and valuation. MarketBeat Q1 Results
• Positive Sentiment: Operational wins — Management highlighted EXAPREL (EXAPREL/EXPAREL) volume growth (~7%) and completed enrollment in a Phase 3 registrational study for ZILRETTA in shoulder OA pain, keeping a year-end topline readout on track. These reduce clinical execution risk and support commercial growth. Press Release — Q1 Results & Programs
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrade/target lift — Needham raised its price target from $30 to $32 and kept a Buy rating, implying ~25% upside from the recent price, which likely reinforced demand from growth-oriented investors. Benzinga — Needham PT Raise
• Neutral Sentiment: FY-2026 revenue guidance set to $745M–$770M — The range is roughly in line with consensus (~$761.5M), implying management expects continued moderate growth but not a material upside surprise to consensus. This guidance reduces uncertainty but isn’t a clear beat. Seeking Alpha — 2026 Guidance & Pipeline
• Neutral Sentiment: Earnings call materials available — Management commentary and the slide deck provide more color on margin trajectory, EPS outlook and product mix; useful for finer-grain modeling but no single surprise announced. Earnings Call Transcript
• Negative Sentiment: Ticker-confusion risk — A separate company (PharmaCorp, TSXV: PCRX) released acquisition news that could create short-term retail/ticker confusion and misdirected orders for Pacira (NASDAQ: PCRX), potentially adding volatility. Investors should verify filings are for Pacira (NASDAQ). GlobeNewswire — PharmaCorp Announcement

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Pacira BioSciences

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PCRX. Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its holdings in Pacira BioSciences by 175.4% in the third quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,132 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 721 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its holdings in Pacira BioSciences by 5,900.0% during the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,500 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 1,475 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in Pacira BioSciences during the fourth quarter worth about $48,000. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. bought a new position in Pacira BioSciences during the fourth quarter worth about $51,000. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Pacira BioSciences by 479.4% during the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 2,028 shares of the company’s stock worth $52,000 after buying an additional 1,678 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.73% of the company’s stock.

Pacira BioSciences Stock Performance

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 has a market cap of $976.25 million, a P/E ratio of 168.17 and a beta of 0.19. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $23.31 and a 200-day simple moving average of $23.14.

Pacira BioSciences (NASDAQ:PCRX) last issued its earnings results 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). 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $201.93 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.91 EPS. Pacira BioSciences’s quarterly revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Pacira BioSciences, Inc. will post 1.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.