Pacira price target lowered to $43 from $45 at Needham

Needham lowered the firm’s price target on Pacira to $43 from $45 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares. The company’s Q1 results are “unlikely to impress” as Exparel sales were $132.4M, down 8% from Q4 and shy of the Street’s $132.8M, after its 3% volume growth and 3%-6% price increase was offset by contracted discounts, the analyst tells investors in a research note. The most positive news of the earnings update was a new $150M stock repurchase program that will return capital to shareholders and provide support to the stock until Exparel returns to its more attractive growth rates in 2025, the firm added.