Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) Insider Sells $122,666.80 in Stock

Vericel Corporation (NASDAQ:VCEL) insider Jonathan Siegal sold 2,732 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.90, for a total transaction of $122,666.80. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 886 shares in the company, valued at $39,781.40. This represents a 75.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link.

Vericel Trading Up 4.1%

NASDAQ VCEL opened at $46.98 on Friday. Vericel Corporation has a 1-year low of $28.95 and a 1-year high of $47.06. The company has a 50 day moving average of $36.96 and a 200-day moving average of $36.03. The firm has a market cap of $2.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 111.86 and a beta of 1.07.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vericel

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in Vericel by 651.3% during the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 2,667 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $119,000 after purchasing an additional 2,312 shares in the last quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA increased its position in shares of Vericel by 18.4% during the first quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 15,097 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $486,000 after acquiring an additional 2,348 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in shares of Vericel by 19.7% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,098,771 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $35,347,000 after acquiring an additional 180,761 shares in the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System raised its holdings in shares of Vericel by 26.3% during the first quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 61,233 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,970,000 after acquiring an additional 12,767 shares during the period. Finally, Rice Hall James & Associates LLC raised its holdings in shares of Vericel by 1.6% during the first quarter. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC now owns 132,063 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $4,248,000 after acquiring an additional 2,094 shares during the period.

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.