Insider Selling: Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL) Director Sells 2,500 Shares of Stock

Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL) Director Robert L. Md Zerbe sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.00, for a total value of $150,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 26,595 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,595,700. This trade represents a 8.59 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link.

Vericel Stock Down 1.7 %

Shares of VCEL stock opened at $57.76 on Thursday. Vericel Co. has a 12-month low of $32.31 and a 12-month high of $61.49. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $46.92 and a 200-day moving average of $47.22. The company has a market capitalization of $2.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 962.83 and a beta of 1.66.

Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.02) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.05) by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $57.91 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $55.32 million. Vericel had a return on equity of 1.48% and a net margin of 1.56%. On average, equities analysts expect that Vericel Co. will post 0.13 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on VCEL. StockNews.com raised Vericel from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Stephens lifted their price objective on shares of Vericel from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Vericel in a report on Friday, November 8th. Canaccord Genuity Group initiated coverage on shares of Vericel in a report on Friday, August 9th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $57.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $60.00 price target on shares of Vericel in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $59.71.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vericel

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Vericel by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,413,442 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $177,567,000 after acquiring an additional 39,349 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in Vericel by 1.0% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,372,812 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $100,251,000 after purchasing an additional 22,461 shares during the last quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in Vericel by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,075,730 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $87,700,000 after buying an additional 34,360 shares in the last quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. boosted its stake in shares of Vericel by 37.4% during the 3rd quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 1,291,720 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $54,575,000 after buying an additional 351,550 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Vericel by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,154,053 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $48,768,000 after acquiring an additional 9,613 shares in the last quarter.

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.