Pacira sinks after continuing to not provide outlook with monthly sales

Pacira BioSciences, when reporting November net product sales of $57.5M earlier today, said it is still not providing 2022 revenue or gross margin guidance "at this time given the continued uncertainty around labor shortages, COVID-19, and the pace of recovery for the elective surgery market." It added, "To provide greater transparency, the company is reporting monthly intra-quarter unaudited net product sales for Exparel, Zilretta and iovera until it has gained enough visibility around the impacts of COVID-19." Pacira explained that since early 2020, its revenues have been impacted by COVID-19 and pandemic-related challenges "that included the significant postponement or suspension in the scheduling of elective surgical procedures due to public health guidance and government directives." While the degree of impact has diminished during the course of the pandemic, "certain pandemic-related operational challenges persist," the company said. "It remains unclear how long it will take the elective surgery market to normalize or if restrictions on elective procedures will recur due to future COVID-19 variants or otherwise," it added. Shares of Pacira are down 7% to $42.11 in late morning trading.