Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) Sets New 52-Week High – Here’s What Happened

Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL) shares reached a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $63.00 and last traded at $60.98, with a volume of 145549 shares. The stock had previously closed at $59.43.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on VCEL. BTIG Research raised their price objective on shares of Vericel from $56.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set a $65.00 price target on shares of Vericel in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. StockNews.com raised Vericel from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 24th. Truist Financial boosted their price target on Vericel from $61.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $60.00 price target on shares of Vericel in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Vericel presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $63.14.

Vericel Trading Up 2.4 %

The business has a 50-day moving average of $57.72 and a two-hundred day moving average of $50.98. The firm has a market cap of $3.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 1,019.42 and a beta of 1.72.

Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.02) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.05) by $0.03. The business 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%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Vericel Co. will post 0.14 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vericel

In related news, Director Paul K. Wotton sold 2,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.72, for a total transaction of $152,672.00. Following the sale, the director now 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Jonathan Siegal sold 3,908 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.99, for a total transaction of $242,256.92. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 1,206 shares in the company, valued at $74,759.94. This trade represents a 76.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 19,008 shares of company stock worth $1,132,129. Insiders own 7.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System lifted its holdings in shares of Vericel by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 23,900 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,312,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its position 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 valued at $77,000 after acquiring an additional 322 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Vericel by 48.1% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,247 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 405 shares during the last quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in Vericel by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC now owns 43,781 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $2,404,000 after acquiring an additional 489 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in Vericel by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 16,367 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $899,000 after purchasing an additional 517 shares during the period.

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.