Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) Stock Rating Lowered by StockNews.com

Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) was downgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report released on Friday.

A number of other research analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Truist Financial lifted their target price on Vericel from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. HC Wainwright boosted their target price on Vericel from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Stephens raised their price target on shares of Vericel from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Canaccord Genuity Group began coverage on shares of Vericel in a research report on Friday, August 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $57.00 price target on the stock. Finally, BTIG Research dropped their price objective on shares of Vericel from $56.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $55.75.

Vericel Stock Down 3.0 %

Shares of VCEL opened at $46.57 on Friday. Vericel has a 52-week low of $30.18 and a 52-week high of $54.10. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $48.29 and a 200-day simple moving average of $47.41. The company has a market capitalization of $2.26 billion, a PE ratio of -4,657.00 and a beta of 1.67.

Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The biotechnology company reported ($0.10) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of ($0.10). Vericel had a return on equity of 0.35% and a net margin of 0.37%. The firm had revenue of $52.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $52.59 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.11) earnings per share. Vericel’s revenue was up 14.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Vericel will post 0.12 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Sean C. Flynn sold 1,474 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.84, for a total value of $67,568.16. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 487 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,324.08. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Vericel news, insider Sean C. Flynn sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.18, for a total value of $782,700.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 707 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $36,891.26. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Sean C. Flynn sold 1,474 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.84, for a total value of $67,568.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 487 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,324.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 39,519 shares of company stock worth $2,024,293 over the last 90 days. 5.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Vericel

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd acquired a new position in Vericel during the 1st quarter valued at $595,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its holdings in shares of Vericel by 99.7% during the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 111,760 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $5,814,000 after purchasing an additional 55,796 shares during the period. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. raised its position in shares of Vericel by 10.9% during the first quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 1,021,695 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $53,149,000 after buying an additional 100,797 shares during the last quarter. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Vericel in the first quarter valued at about $6,538,000. Finally, Geneva Capital Management LLC grew its position in Vericel by 43.6% during the first quarter. Geneva Capital Management LLC now owns 679,165 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $35,330,000 after buying an additional 206,202 shares in the last quarter.

About Vericel

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.