Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) Reaches New 12-Month High – What’s Next?

Vericel Corporation (NASDAQ:VCEL)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high on Friday . The company traded as high as $43.85 and last traded at $43.10, with a volume of 408 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $42.90.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VCEL has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Vericel from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, June 14th. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $64.00 price target on shares of Vericel in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Weiss Ratings raised Vericel from a “sell (d)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 16th. Leerink Partners restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $46.00 price objective on shares of Vericel in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. Finally, Truist Financial decreased their target price on Vericel from $48.00 to $42.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $52.50.

Vericel Stock Up 0.9%

The firm has a market capitalization of $2.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 102.70 and a beta of 1.12. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $35.89 and its 200 day moving average is $35.74.

Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.12) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.15) by $0.03. The company had revenue of $68.43 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $63.68 million. Vericel had a return on equity of 6.41% and a net margin of 7.35%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 30.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.23) EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Vericel Corporation will post 0.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Vericel news, insider Jonathan Mark Hopper sold 3,472 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.00, for a total transaction of $121,520.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 75,556 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,644,460. This represents a 4.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Sean C. Flynn sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.21, for a total transaction of $603,150.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 1,647 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $66,225.87. The trade was a 90.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 7.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Vericel

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VCEL. Congress Asset Management Co. increased its stake in Vericel by 11.4% in the 4th quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 1,664,578 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $59,941,000 after buying an additional 169,971 shares during the period. Aberdeen Group plc boosted its stake in shares of Vericel by 7.6% during the 4th quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 583,884 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $21,026,000 after buying an additional 41,018 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Vericel by 90.3% during the 3rd quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 2,210,929 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $69,578,000 after buying an additional 1,048,864 shares during the period. GW&K Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Vericel by 22.5% during the 4th quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC now owns 1,580,967 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $56,931,000 after acquiring an additional 290,795 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geneva Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Vericel by 9.0% during the 3rd quarter. Geneva Capital Management LLC now owns 1,946,305 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $61,250,000 after acquiring an additional 161,378 shares in the last quarter.

Vericel Company Profile

Vericel Corporation is a biotechnology company specializing in the development, manufacturing and commercialization of cell-based therapies for patients with severe diseases and conditions. The company’s expertise lies in regenerative medicine, where it harnesses the power of autologous cell processing to create products designed to restore function and promote healing in damaged tissues.

Vericel currently markets two FDA-approved therapies. MACI® (autologous cultured chondrocytes on porcine collagen membrane) is indicated for the repair of symptomatic cartilage defects of the knee in adult patients.