Insider Selling: Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) CFO Sells $1,456,500.00 in Stock

Vericel Corporation (NASDAQ:VCEL) CFO Joseph Mara, Jr. sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.26, for a total value of $1,456,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 16,186 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $942,996.36. The trade was a 60.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Vericel Trading Down 3.4%

VCEL stock traded down $2.03 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $57.42. 826,522 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 900,707. Vericel Corporation has a 1-year low of $28.95 and a 1-year high of $59.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.93 billion, a PE ratio of 92.89 and a beta of 1.08. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $42.45 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $39.30.

Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 5th. The biotechnology company reported $0.27 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.06 by $0.21. The business had revenue of $85.37 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $77.95 million. Vericel had a return on equity of 9.09% and a net margin of 10.27%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 26.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.10 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Vericel Corporation will post 0.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on VCEL shares. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Vericel in a research report on Thursday, October 29th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Vericel from $55.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Vericel from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 7th. Stephens lifted their target price on shares of Vericel from $55.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group set a $60.00 target price on Vericel in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $62.00.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vericel

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. First Trust Advisors LP increased its stake in Vericel by 298.1% during the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 182,013 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $7,306,000 after purchasing an additional 136,288 shares during the period. Ieq Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Vericel by 50.1% during the third quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 19,832 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $796,000 after purchasing an additional 6,623 shares in the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its stake in shares of Vericel by 78.0% in the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 312,194 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $12,556,000 after purchasing an additional 136,785 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Vericel by 41.7% in the third quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 91,026 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $3,654,000 after purchasing an additional 26,790 shares during the period. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Vericel by 24.8% in the third quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,194 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 237 shares during the period.

About Vericel

Vericel Corporation is a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing cell therapies and other treatments for serious conditions. Based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, the company markets its products primarily in the United States. Its products include MACI, an implant made from a patient’s own cultured cartilage cells used to repair certain cartilage defects in the knee, and Epicel, a cultured skin graft used to treat patients with deep burns. Vericel also commercializes NexoBrid in the United States, an enzyme-based treatment for removing dead tissue from severe thermal burns.