Start here if you're new
what it is
Pacira sells pain treatments and a cold-therapy device meant to reduce opioid use after surgery and in arthritis care.
how it gets paid
Last year Pacira Biosciences made $726.4M in revenue. EXPAREL® was the main engine at $575.1M, or about 79% of sales.
why it's growing
Revenue grew about 4% in 2025. Fourth-quarter revenue was $196.9M, up 5% vs. prior year. Full-year GAAP EPS was $0.16; non-GAAP diluted EPS was $2.65.
what just happened
Pacira posted $196.9M in fourth-quarter revenue (up 5% vs. prior year), but adjusted EPS missed consensus.
At a glance
B balance sheet — gets the job done, barely
20/100 earnings predictability — expect surprises
~10x trailing p/e (non-GAAP FY2025 EPS) — multiple looks modest if you believe the adjusted numbers
3.3% return on capital — nothing to write home about
$2.65 FY2025 non-GAAP diluted EPS
xvary composite: 41/100 — below average
What they do
Pacira sells pain treatments and a cold-therapy device meant to reduce opioid use after surgery and in arthritis care.
Pacira has 3 commercialized treatments. That is 3 shots on goal, not 1. You get EXPAREL, ZILRETTA, and iovera° across surgery, arthritis, and nerve pain. Leaving is painful because hospitals do not swap pain protocols fast. Pacira also has 788 employees pushing the same story from different angles.
How they make money
$726.4M
annual revenue (2025) · their business grew about +4% vs. prior year
EXPAREL®
$575.1M
+5.0%
ZILRETTA®
$116.6M
-1.0%
iovera°®
$24.2M
+6.0%
Other / licensing
$10.5M
—
The products that matter
non-opioid pain injection
EXPAREL
~$575M · ~79% of revenue (FY2025)
this is the center of gravity. it drove record Q4 sales and management projected 4–8% growth for 2026. if that range holds, the base business stays intact.
flagship franchise
knee osteoarthritis injection
ZILRETTA
$116.6M FY2025 · Q4 flat vs. prior year
ZILRETTA sits inside the non-EXPAREL slice with iovera°. Q4 2025 net sales were essentially flat versus the prior year. that makes it useful diversification, not the growth engine.
flat demand
portable cryoneurolysis device
iovera°
$24.2M FY2025 · +6% vs. prior year
iovera° gives Pacira a device angle in pain treatment; FY2025 sales grew 6% vs. prior year. for now, it helps broaden the pitch more than the math.
adjacent option
Key numbers
$726M
ttm revenue
That is the size of the machine. It is up about 4% vs. prior year, so growth exists, just not at a wild pace.
~10x
trailing p/e
Roughly 10x FY2025 non-GAAP diluted EPS ($2.65). GAAP earnings were far lower ($0.16), so the multiple you feel depends on which measure you trust.
2.6%
operating margin
Pacira keeps 2.6 cents from each sales dollar after operating costs. Thin margin means small misses matter.
$416M
long-term debt
Debt equals 31% of capital. That is not fatal, but it does narrow the room for mistakes.
Financial health
B
strength
- balance sheet grade B — adequate — nothing special
- risk rank 3 — safer than 50% of stocks
- price stability 25 / 100
- long-term debt $416M (31% of capital)
B — functional but not a standout on the balance sheet.
Total return vs. market
Return history isn't available for PCRX right now.
source: institutional data · return history unavailable
What just happened
missed estimates
Pacira posted $196.9M in fourth-quarter revenue (up 5% vs. prior year), but adjusted EPS missed consensus.
Non-GAAP diluted EPS was $0.57 versus $0.91 in Q4 2024; GAAP EPS was $0.04. Revenue narrowly missed some sell-side estimates even as it grew vs. prior year.
$196.9M
Q4 revenue
$0.57
adj. EPS (dil.)
n/a
n/a
revenue
The adjusted EPS miss mattered most because expenses and investments rose while the stock was priced for cleaner execution.
source: company earnings report, 2026
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What could go wrong
the #1 risk is EXPAREL concentration inside a slow-growth revenue base.
med
Below-consensus 2026 guidance already lowered the ceiling
Management guided revenue to $745M–$770M versus $726.4M in 2025. That is only about 2.6–6.0% growth. For a story that still depends on EXPAREL execution, slow growth is not a small problem.
If growth stays in the low single digits, the rerating case depends almost entirely on margin durability and buybacks.
med
EXPAREL appears to be doing most of the heavy lifting
Roughly $575M of about $726M in FY2025 revenue came from EXPAREL. That is around 79% of the business. One flagship product can be a franchise. It can also be a single point of failure.
A slowdown in EXPAREL would hit both revenue and the 80% gross-margin story that funds repurchases.
med
Pipeline hope is still hope until it sells something
Future upside leans on assets like PCRX-201, but the current page shows no commercial revenue from pipeline programs. The market will not pay full price for optionality forever.
If pipeline milestones slip, you are left owning a mature pain franchise with modest growth and $416M of long-term debt.
A miss on EXPAREL or another guide-down would pressure the business generating roughly $575M of its ~$726M revenue. That is why the risk picture is concentrated, not abstract.
source: institutional data · regulatory filings · risk analysis
Pay attention to
next report
Q1 2026 earnings on May 6, 2026
Consensus EPS is $0.59. More important than the EPS print: whether management still sounds comfortable with the $745M–$770M full-year guide.
flagship metric
EXPAREL growth needs to stay inside the 4–8% range
That is management's 2026 growth outlook for the product carrying roughly 80% of revenue. If that range breaks, the whole valuation argument gets weaker fast.
expansion
LG Chem launch details in Asia
Watch for timing and early demand signals in mid-2026. International expansion is one of the few visible ways to make the growth profile look less mature.
governance
Outcome of DOMA's board challenge
Three director nominations can change the conversation around strategy, spending, and capital returns. Activists usually show up when they think the stock is stuck for a reason.
Analyst rankings
earnings predictability
20 / 100
Low predictability means the quarter-to-quarter numbers can move around more than you want. in human-speak, analysts do not view this as a smooth story.
consensus price target
$30.75
That is about 15% above $26.68. Analysts see upside, but the target is not screaming breakout — it is saying modest rerating if execution holds.
source: institutional data
Institutional activity
institutional ownership data for PCRX is being compiled.
source: institutional data
Price targets
3-5 year target range
n/a
n/a
$27
current price
n/a
target midpoint · n/a from current
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