Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) Hits New 52-Week High – Still a Buy?

Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL) shares reached a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $63.00 and last traded at $60.98, with a volume of 145549 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $59.43.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on VCEL. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Vericel from $61.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $65.00 price objective on shares of Vericel in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price target on Vericel from $64.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. StockNews.com upgraded Vericel from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 24th. Finally, BTIG Research raised their target price on shares of Vericel from $56.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $63.14.

Vericel Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $3.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 1,019.42 and a beta of 1.72. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $57.72 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $50.98.

Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.02) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.05) by $0.03. Vericel had a net margin of 1.56% and a return on equity of 1.48%. The business had revenue of $57.91 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $55.32 million. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Vericel Co. will post 0.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Robert L. Md Zerbe sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.00, for a total value of $150,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 26,595 shares in the company, valued at $1,595,700. This represents a 8.59 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Jonathan Mark Hopper sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.72, for a total transaction of $587,200.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 58,371 shares in the company, valued at $3,427,545.12. The trade was a 14.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 19,008 shares of company stock worth $1,132,129 in the last three months. Insiders own 7.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Vericel

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Vericel by 4,126.7% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 634 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 619 shares during the period. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI purchased a new stake in shares of Vericel in the fourth quarter valued at about $48,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its position in Vericel by 48.1% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,247 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 405 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Vericel by 22.2% during the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 1,773 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $77,000 after buying an additional 322 shares during the period. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Vericel during the third quarter worth about $92,000.

Vericel Company Profile

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.