Vericel Corporation (NASDAQ:VCEL) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Vericel Corporation (NASDAQ:VCEL) have received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seven analysts that are covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $58.40.

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Vericel from $55.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Weiss Ratings raised Vericel from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $58.00 price target (up from $54.00) on shares of Vericel in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Wall Street Zen raised Vericel from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, July 18th. Finally, HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and set a $70.00 price objective on shares of Vericel in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Jonathan Mark Hopper sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.00, for a total value of $450,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 75,753 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,408,885. This represents a 11.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Sean C. Flynn sold 15,000 shares of the 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 directly owned 1,647 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $66,225.87. This trade represents a 90.11% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 52,232 shares of company stock worth $2,304,217 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 7.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Vericel

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. GW&K Investment Management LLC boosted 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. Granite Investment Partners LLC grew its position in Vericel by 66.6% during the 1st quarter. Granite Investment Partners LLC now owns 120,236 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $3,868,000 after acquiring an additional 48,056 shares during the last quarter. Madison Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Vericel in the 4th quarter worth about $1,819,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its holdings in Vericel by 2,152.6% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 45,885 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,652,000 after purchasing an additional 43,848 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its position in Vericel by 10.6% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 187,616 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $6,756,000 after purchasing an additional 18,002 shares during the last quarter.

Vericel Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VCEL opened at $44.73 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $43.69 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $37.81. Vericel has a one year low of $28.95 and a one year high of $49.32. The firm has a market cap of $2.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 95.17 and a beta of 1.06.

Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The biotechnology company reported $0.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.03) by $0.07. The business had revenue of $77.46 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $72.70 million. Vericel had a return on equity of 6.91% and a net margin of 7.91%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 22.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted ($0.01) earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Vericel will post 0.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.