Pacira Q2 Earnings & Revenues Beat, 2026 Sales Outlook Cut

Year to date, Pacira shares have risen 6.7% compared with the industry’s 1.6% increase.

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PCRX Q2 Product Sales Rise Across the Portfolio

Total product sales reached $190.5 million in the quarter, increasing 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. Exparel remained the largest contributor, with net product sales rising 3% year over year to $147.8 million.

Exparel’s volume growth was partly offset by an unfavorable vial mix and discounting tied to the company’s group purchasing organization contract.

Exparel (bupivacaine liposome injectable suspension) is indicated in patients aged six years and older for single-dose infiltration to produce postsurgical local analgesia. It is also indicated for regional analgesia in adults via an interscalene brachial plexus nerve block, sciatic nerve block in the popliteal fossa and femoral nerve block in the adductor canal.

Zilretta net product sales increased 4% year over year to $32.6 million in the reported quarter. Management attributed the improvement to commercial initiatives launched last year, including a dedicated sales force and the company’s partnership with Johnson & Johnson.

Second-quarter iovera net product sales climbed 22% year over year to $6.8 million. Sales of bupivacaine liposome injectable suspension to third-party licensees came in at $3.2 million during the second quarter compared with $0.5 million in the year-ago period.

Meanwhile, royalty revenues increased to $1.9 million in the second quarter from $0.8 million in the year-ago period.

PCRX’s Q2 Costs, Margins and EBITDA

Pacira’s adjusted gross margin contracted to 78% from 82% in the prior-year quarter.

Adjusted research and development (R&D) expenses rose 9.7% year over year to $27.1 million, mainly due to the advancing phase II study of PCRX-201 and label-expansion programs. Adjusted selling, general and administrative (SG&A) expenses increased 5.3% year over year to $81.3 million, partly due to nonrecurring costs related to the contested director election.

Adjusted EBITDA fell to $48.7 million from $54.3 million. Adjusted net income was $29.5 million compared with $36 million in the prior-year quarter.

Pacira ended the quarter with $251 million in cash, cash equivalents and available-for-sale investments compared with $202.2 million as of March 31, 2026.

Pacira Updates Guidance

Following the July 31 closing of the iovera divestiture to Zimmer Biomet, Pacira lowered its 2026 total revenue guidance from $745-$770 million to $735-$760 million. The revised range includes iovera sales only through the transaction closing date.

The company also reduced its adjusted SG&A expense forecast to $310-$330 million from $320-$340 million. The adjusted R&D expenses guidance remained unchanged in the range of $105-$115 million. Stock-based compensation guidance was tightened from $54-$62 million to $54-$59 million.

Pacira maintained its 2026 Exparel net product sales outlook of $600-$620 million. Management said the second half assumes continued macroeconomic softness, with growth expected from outpatient settings and procedures viewed as more resilient to economic pressure.

The company also maintained adjusted gross margin guidance of 77-79%.

Pacira Expands Access and Sharpens Focus

In July 2026, the company secured a major win when UnitedHealthcare began providing separate reimbursement for Exparel across hospital outpatient departments and ambulatory surgery centers. The addition brought Exparel’s covered lives to more than 150 million and moved Pacira closer to its year-end target of 160 million.

UnitedHealthcare is the largest U.S. health insurer with about 40 million members.

UnitedHealthcare also placed Zilretta on its preferred drug list without prior authorization requirements. Meanwhile, the iovera sale brought Pacira $73.6 million in cash after purchase price adjustments and preserved potential revenue-based milestone payments of up to $70 million.

PCRX Recent Pipeline Updates

Pacira and Zimmer Biomet will collaborate on advancing the iovera spasticity program. Pacira could earn incremental compensation if the program successfully completes its registrational study and secures regulatory approval.

Top-line data from the phase III registrational study of Zilretta for osteoarthritis (OA) pain of the shoulder is expected later in 2026.

Enrollment is underway in Part B of the phase II ASCEND study of PCRX-201, a gene therapy for osteoarthritis of the knee, after the program transitioned to a scalable commercial manufacturing process. Enrollment in Part A of the study concluded in June, with top-line data expected by the end of 2026.

PCRX’s Zacks Rank & Stocks to Consider

Pacira currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Some better-ranked stocks in the biotech sector are Repligen RGEN and Liquidia Corporation LQDA, each currently sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Over the past 60 days, estimates for Repligen’s 2026 earnings per share have risen from $1.99 to $2.06, while estimates for 2027 have increased from $2.57 to $2.62 during the same time. RGEN shares have declined 8.6% year to date.

Repligen’s earnings beat estimates in each of the trailing four quarters, with the average surprise being 16.80%.

Over the past 60 days, estimates for Liquidia’s 2026 earnings per share have risen from $2.97 to $3.02, while estimates for 2027 have increased from $4.81 to $5.31 during the same time. LQDA shares have surged 156.3% year to date.

Liquidia’s earnings beat estimates in three of the trailing four quarters, while missing the same on the remaining occasion, with the average surprise being 54.40%.

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