Pacira BioSciences Stock Tumbles 10% After Q4 Preliminary Earnings Shortfall

Biotech firm Pacira BioSciences saw its shares sink on Friday following disappointing fourth-quarter preliminary results. The company’s Q4 revenues came in at $196.9 million, falling below Wall Street expectations of $199 million. This miss triggered a sharp 9.6% sell-off as investors reassessed the company’s near-term momentum.

Breaking Down Q4 Product Performance

Pacira’s revenue streams come from three main marketed therapies: Exparel, Zilretta, and iovera. While the overall quarter disappointed, the performance across products painted a mixed picture.

Exparel led the charge with $155.8 million in net sales, representing a 5% year-over-year uptick. This modestly beat consensus expectations of $155 million. However, the company noted that strong 7% volume expansion was partially countered by mix shifts and introductory discounts tied to a new group purchasing organization deal. Exparel (bupivacaine liposome injectable suspension) serves as a postsurgical pain relief option for patients six and older, delivered through local infiltration. The drug also carries FDA approval for regional nerve blocks in adults, including applications via interscalene brachial plexus nerve block, sciatic nerve block in the popliteal fossa, and femoral nerve block in the adductor canal—expanding its utility across multiple surgical scenarios.

Zilretta underperformed expectations with preliminary sales of $33 million, essentially flat versus the year-ago quarter. The figure missed both the consensus estimate of $34.4 million and internal projections. This extended-release intra-articular therapy targets osteoarthritis patients struggling with knee pain and has been a key asset since Pacira’s 2021 acquisition of Flexion Therapeutics.

iovera registered modest gains of 8% year-over-year, bringing in $7 million in preliminary sales. The cryoneurolysis-based pain management system hit internal forecasts but came up short of the $7.3 million consensus view. As a drug-free, FDA-cleared innovation, iovera continues to represent a differentiated approach in the pain management space.

Additionally, bupivacaine liposome licensing revenue contributed $1.1 million in Q4, compared to zero the prior year.

Full-Year 2025 Takeaway

For the complete 2025 calendar, Pacira reported total revenues of $726.4 million, up 4% year-over-year but shy of the $728.8 million consensus target. The company plans to release audited financials and 2026 guidance during Q1 2026 earnings.

The modest growth rate and miss-heavy quarter suggest investors should await fuller context before drawing longer-term conclusions about Pacira’s trajectory in the competitive biotech landscape.