HC Wainwright Issues Negative Outlook for Vericel Earnings

Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL) – Analysts at HC Wainwright cut their Q3 2025 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Vericel in a research note issued on Wednesday, January 15th. HC Wainwright analyst S. Ramakanth now expects that the biotechnology company will post earnings per share of $0.05 for the quarter, down from their previous forecast of $0.09. HC Wainwright currently has a “Buy” rating and a $60.00 target price on the stock. The consensus estimate for Vericel’s current full-year earnings is $0.13 per share. HC Wainwright also issued estimates for Vericel’s Q4 2025 earnings at $0.26 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $0.35 EPS, FY2026 earnings at $0.86 EPS, FY2027 earnings at $1.25 EPS and FY2028 earnings at $2.02 EPS.

Several other analysts also recently weighed in on the company. BTIG Research lifted their target price on Vericel from $56.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $65.00 target price on shares of Vericel in a report on Wednesday. Truist Financial increased their target price on Vericel from $61.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. StockNews.com raised shares of Vericel from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 24th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $60.00 price target on shares of Vericel in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Vericel has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $62.14.

Vericel Price Performance

Vericel stock opened at $56.35 on Friday. Vericel has a 1-year low of $37.35 and a 1-year high of $61.49. The company’s 50-day moving average is $56.80 and its 200 day moving average is $49.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 939.32 and a beta of 1.72.

Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.02) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.05) by $0.03. The business had revenue of $57.91 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $55.32 million. Vericel had a net margin of 1.56% and a return on equity of 1.48%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Jonathan Mark Hopper sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.72, for a total transaction of $587,200.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 58,371 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,427,545.12. This trade represents a 14.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Paul K. Wotton sold 2,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.72, for a total value of $152,672.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 27,402 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,609,045.44. The trade was a 8.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 15,100 shares of company stock valued at $889,872. 7.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Vericel

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VCEL. Geneva Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Vericel by 61.4% during the 3rd quarter. Geneva Capital Management LLC now owns 1,104,386 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $46,660,000 after acquiring an additional 420,078 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in Vericel by 214.0% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 587,857 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $24,837,000 after purchasing an additional 400,667 shares in the last quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. grew its holdings in Vericel by 37.4% in the third quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 1,291,720 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $54,575,000 after purchasing an additional 351,550 shares during the period. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Vericel by 54.8% in the third quarter. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC now owns 590,145 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $24,934,000 after buying an additional 209,009 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Vericel during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $4,973,000.

About Vericel

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.