Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) Downgraded to “Sell” at StockNews.com

Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) was downgraded by investment analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of Vericel from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. HC Wainwright increased their price objective on Vericel from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Canaccord Genuity Group assumed coverage on Vericel in a research note on Friday, August 9th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $57.00 target price for the company. Canaccord Genuity Group started coverage on Vericel in a research note on Friday, August 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $57.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Stephens lifted their price objective on Vericel from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $55.75.

Vericel Price Performance

Vericel stock opened at $46.57 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $48.29 and a 200 day simple moving average of $47.41. Vericel has a one year low of $30.18 and a one year high of $54.10. The company has a market capitalization of $2.26 billion, a PE ratio of -4,657.00 and a beta of 1.67.

Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The biotechnology company reported ($0.10) earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of ($0.10). The company had revenue of $52.70 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $52.59 million. Vericel had a net margin of 0.37% and a return on equity of 0.35%. The company’s revenue was up 14.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($0.11) earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Vericel will post 0.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Vericel news, insider Sean C. Flynn sold 1,474 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.84, for a total value of $67,568.16. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 487 shares in the company, valued at $22,324.08. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Vericel news, insider Sean C. Flynn sold 1,474 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.84, for a total transaction of $67,568.16. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 487 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,324.08. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Dominick Colangelo sold 17,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.40, for a total transaction of $899,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 220,937 shares in the company, valued at $11,356,161.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 39,519 shares of company stock worth $2,024,293. Insiders own 5.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. MCF Advisors LLC raised its position in Vericel by 86.1% in the 1st quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 482 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 223 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC raised its holdings in shares of Vericel by 319.0% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 662 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 504 shares during the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Vericel by 9.7% in the second quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,484 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $114,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Vericel by 178.7% during the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 2,584 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $134,000 after purchasing an additional 1,657 shares during the last quarter. Finally, RiverPark Advisors LLC bought a new position in Vericel in the first quarter valued at $147,000.

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.