Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL) Receives Average Recommendation of “Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL) have been given a consensus rating of “Buy” by the seven brokerages that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $51.33.

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on VCEL. HC Wainwright raised their price objective on Vericel from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 9th. TD Cowen assumed coverage on Vericel in a research report on Thursday, June 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $55.00 price objective on the stock. Truist Financial raised their price target on Vericel from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. StockNews.com downgraded Vericel from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. Finally, BTIG Research lowered their price target on Vericel from $56.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 15th.

Vericel Price Performance

Shares of VCEL stock opened at $50.11 on Wednesday. Vericel has a 1-year low of $30.18 and a 1-year high of $53.14. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $46.83 and its 200 day moving average is $45.95. The company has a market cap of $2.44 billion, a P/E ratio of -5,005.99 and a beta of 1.70.

Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 8th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.08) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.11) by $0.03. Vericel had a return on equity of 0.21% and a net margin of 0.22%. The company had revenue of $51.28 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $49.07 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($0.16) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 25.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Vericel will post 0.11 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Vericel news, CEO Dominick Colangelo sold 17,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.12, for a total value of $772,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 220,752 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,739,578.24. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, CFO Joseph Anthony Mara, Jr. sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total value of $250,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 14,436 shares in the company, valued at $721,800. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Dominick Colangelo sold 17,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.12, for a total value of $772,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 220,752 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,739,578.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 63,791 shares of company stock valued at $3,101,269. 5.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. MCF Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Vericel by 86.1% in the first quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 482 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 223 shares during the last quarter. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI purchased a new position in Vericel during the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. CWM LLC raised its position in Vericel by 319.0% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 662 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 504 shares in the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale purchased a new position in Vericel during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new position in Vericel during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $65,000.

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.