StockNews.com Downgrades Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) to Sell

StockNews.com cut shares of Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note released on Friday.

Several other research firms also recently commented on VCEL. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Vericel in a report on Friday. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $65.00 price objective on shares of Vericel in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price objective on shares of Vericel from $64.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. BTIG Research upped their price objective on shares of Vericel from $56.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Vericel from $61.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $63.14.

Vericel Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VCEL opened at $51.29 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $57.20 and its 200 day moving average is $51.79. The company has a market capitalization of $2.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 854.98 and a beta of 1.72. Vericel has a fifty-two week low of $39.12 and a fifty-two week high of $63.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Jonathan Siegal sold 1,092 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.99, for a total value of $67,693.08. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,206 shares in the company, valued at approximately $74,759.94. This represents a 47.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Jonathan Mark Hopper sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.72, for a total transaction of $587,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 58,371 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,427,545.12. This trade represents a 14.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 20,100 shares of company stock worth $1,206,072 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 5.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in shares of Vericel by 214.0% in 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 during the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp increased its position in shares of Vericel by 40.0% in the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 28,073 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,186,000 after purchasing an additional 8,020 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Vericel by 0.8% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,154,053 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $48,768,000 after purchasing an additional 9,613 shares during the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System boosted its stake in Vericel by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 23,900 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,312,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Vericel in the third quarter worth approximately $563,000.

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.