Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) Downgraded by StockNews.com to “Sell”

StockNews.com lowered shares of Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note released on Friday morning.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on VCEL. BTIG Research boosted their price target on shares of Vericel from $56.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price objective on shares of Vericel from $64.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Vericel from $61.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $60.00 price objective on shares of Vericel in a research note on Friday. Finally, Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $65.00 price objective on shares of Vericel in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $63.14.

Vericel Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VCEL opened at $51.29 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 854.98 and a beta of 1.72. Vericel has a 52-week low of $39.12 and a 52-week high of $63.00. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $57.20 and its 200-day moving average price is $51.79.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vericel

In other Vericel news, Director Robert L. Md Zerbe sold 2,500 shares of Vericel stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.50, for a total transaction of $156,250.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 26,595 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,662,187.50. The trade was a 8.59 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Jonathan Mark Hopper sold 10,000 shares of Vericel stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.72, for a total transaction of $587,200.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 58,371 shares in the company, valued at $3,427,545.12. This represents a 14.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 20,100 shares of company stock worth $1,206,072. 5.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vericel

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in Vericel by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,372,812 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $100,251,000 after acquiring an additional 22,461 shares during the last quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Vericel by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,075,730 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $87,700,000 after acquiring an additional 34,360 shares during the last quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. boosted its holdings in Vericel by 12.6% during the 4th quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 1,454,139 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $79,847,000 after acquiring an additional 162,419 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in Vericel by 119.3% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,288,921 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $70,775,000 after acquiring an additional 701,064 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GW&K Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Vericel by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC now owns 1,273,964 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $69,953,000 after buying an additional 30,180 shares during 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.