Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report report published on Tuesday morning.

Several other research firms have also commented on VCEL. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and issued a $60.00 price target on shares of Vericel in a report on Friday, November 8th. TD Cowen increased their target price on Vericel from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. Canaccord Genuity Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $60.00 price target on shares of Vericel in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. BTIG Research upped their price objective on Vericel from $56.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their target price on Vericel from $61.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $61.14.

Vericel Price Performance

VCEL stock opened at $57.67 on Tuesday. Vericel has a 12 month low of $32.31 and a 12 month high of $61.49. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $52.67 and its 200 day moving average is $48.50. The company has a market capitalization of $2.85 billion, a PE ratio of 961.33 and a beta of 1.71.

Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.02) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.05) by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $57.91 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $55.32 million. Vericel had a net margin of 1.56% and a return on equity of 1.48%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Vericel will post 0.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Dominick Colangelo sold 17,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.38, for a total value of $724,150.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 220,937 shares in the company, valued at $9,142,373.06. This trade represents a 7.34 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Steven C. Gilman sold 5,833 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.36, for a total value of $241,252.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,000 shares in the company, valued at $454,960. This represents a 34.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 44,266 shares of company stock valued at $2,090,636. 5.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vericel

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Vericel by 4,126.7% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 634 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 619 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Vericel by 48.1% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,247 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 405 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Vericel by 22.2% during the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 1,773 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $77,000 after buying an additional 322 shares in the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Vericel during the third quarter valued at $92,000. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new position in Vericel in the third quarter valued at $146,000.

Vericel Company Profile

Vericel Corporation, a commercial-stage biopharmaceutical company, engages in the research, development, manufacture, and distribution of cellular therapies for sports medicine and severe burn care markets in North America. The company markets autologous cell therapy products comprising MACI, an autologous cultured chondrocytes on porcine collagen membrane for the repair of symptomatic, and single or multiple full-thickness cartilage defects of the knee; Epicel, a permanent skin replacement humanitarian use device for the treatment of adult and pediatric patients with deep-dermal or full-thickness burns; and NexoBrid, a biological orphan product for eschar removal in adults with deep partial-thickness and/or full-thickness thermal burns.