Pacira BioSciences (NASDAQ:PCRX) Shares Pass Below 50 Day Moving Average – Should You Sell?

Pacira BioSciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:PCRX) passed below its 50 day moving average during trading on Thursday . The stock has a 50 day moving average of $23.46 and traded as low as $22.47. Pacira BioSciences shares last traded at $23.48, with a volume of 404,074 shares trading hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Pacira BioSciences from a “sell (d)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Pacira BioSciences from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Pacira BioSciences from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, February 28th. Needham & Company LLC increased their target price on shares of Pacira BioSciences from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on shares of Pacira BioSciences from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $29.40.

Pacira BioSciences Stock Down 0.6%

The company has a market capitalization of $918.78 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 194.60 and a beta of 0.32. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $23.47 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $23.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 4.73 and a quick ratio of 3.35.

Pacira BioSciences (NASDAQ:PCRX) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.61 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $177.38 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $171.80 million. Pacira BioSciences had a return on equity of 10.24% and a net margin of 0.70%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.65 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Pacira BioSciences, Inc. will post 1.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Pacira BioSciences

In related news, CFO Shawn Cross sold 12,941 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.16, for a total value of $325,595.56. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 105,341 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,650,379.56. This trade represents a 10.94% 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. Also, insider Jonathan Slonin sold 3,261 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.82, for a total transaction of $74,416.02. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 223,640 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,103,464.80. This trade represents a 1.44% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 28,261 shares of company stock worth $702,610. Corporate insiders own 6.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Pacira BioSciences

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Pacira BioSciences by 175.4% in the 3rd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,132 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 721 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its holdings in shares of Pacira BioSciences by 5,900.0% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,500 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 1,475 shares during the period. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Pacira BioSciences in the 1st quarter worth about $46,000. Kestra Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Pacira BioSciences in the 4th quarter worth about $48,000. Finally, Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. acquired a new position in Pacira BioSciences during the 4th quarter valued at about $51,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.73% of the company’s stock.

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.