Pacira BioSciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:PCRX) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

Pacira BioSciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:PCRX) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 6,050,000 shares, an increase of 17.5% from the August 15th total of 5,150,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,350,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.5 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on PCRX. Royal Bank of Canada cut Pacira BioSciences from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $37.00 to $14.00 in a report on Monday, August 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated an “underweight” rating and set a $10.00 price objective (down previously from $45.00) on shares of Pacira BioSciences in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Raymond James lowered shares of Pacira BioSciences from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. Needham & Company LLC cut their price objective on shares of Pacira BioSciences from $43.00 to $22.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Finally, Truist Financial lowered shares of Pacira BioSciences from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $30.00 to $8.00 in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $24.78.

Pacira BioSciences Trading Up 6.3 %

NASDAQ:PCRX traded up $0.86 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $14.35. 983,485 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 885,439. The firm has a market cap of $667.70 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.03 and a beta of 0.84. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $16.88 and a 200 day simple moving average of $24.26. Pacira BioSciences has a 52-week low of $11.16 and a 52-week high of $35.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 6.82 and a quick ratio of 5.70.

Pacira BioSciences (NASDAQ:PCRX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $178.02 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $173.31 million. Pacira BioSciences had a return on equity of 13.22% and a net margin of 9.21%. As a group, analysts predict that Pacira BioSciences will post 2.24 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Pacira BioSciences news, insider Jonathan Slonin sold 2,836 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.25, for a total transaction of $80,117.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 95,557 shares in the company, valued at $2,699,485.25. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, insider Jonathan Slonin sold 2,836 shares of Pacira BioSciences stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.25, for a total transaction of $80,117.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 95,557 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,699,485.25. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Frank D. Lee acquired 8,264 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 12th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $12.10 per share, for a total transaction of $99,994.40. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 107,784 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,304,186.40. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have bought 11,176 shares of company stock valued at $136,240 and have sold 4,281 shares valued at $105,494. Insiders own 6.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Pacira BioSciences

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Pacira BioSciences by 0.3% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,113,384 shares of the company’s stock worth $149,413,000 after buying an additional 14,960 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Pacira BioSciences by 37.5% during the 2nd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,162,787 shares of the company’s stock worth $61,877,000 after acquiring an additional 590,082 shares in the last quarter. Frontier Capital Management Co. LLC boosted its holdings in Pacira BioSciences by 15.8% in the 4th quarter. Frontier Capital Management Co. LLC now owns 2,084,542 shares of the company’s stock worth $70,332,000 after acquiring an additional 285,045 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its position in Pacira BioSciences by 9.8% in the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 2,066,197 shares of the company’s stock valued at $59,114,000 after acquiring an additional 184,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Pacira BioSciences by 12.2% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,828,065 shares of the company’s stock valued at $52,300,000 after purchasing an additional 198,936 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.73% of the company’s stock.

Pacira BioSciences Company Profile

Pacira BioSciences, Inc engages in the development, manufacture, marketing, distribution, and sale of non-opioid pain management and regenerative health solutions to healthcare practitioners in the United States. The company offers EXPAREL, a bupivacaine liposome injectable suspension; ZILRETTA, a triamcinolone acetonide extended-release injectable suspension; and iovera system, a non-opioid handheld cryoanalgesia device used to produce controlled doses of cold temperature to targeted nerves.