Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) Upgraded to “Hold” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report report published on Wednesday.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on VCEL. Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of Vericel from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. TD Cowen started coverage on Vericel in a report on Thursday, June 20th. They issued a buy rating and a $55.00 target price for the company. BTIG Research cut their price target on Vericel from $56.00 to $55.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 15th. Finally, HC Wainwright lifted their price objective on Vericel from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, May 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $51.33.

Vericel Stock Up 1.2 %

VCEL opened at $52.32 on Wednesday. Vericel has a 52 week low of $30.18 and a 52 week high of $54.08. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $47.20 and a 200-day simple moving average of $46.48. The firm has a market cap of $2.54 billion, a P/E ratio of -5,232.00 and a beta of 1.70.

Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 8th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.08) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.11) by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $51.28 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $49.07 million. Vericel had a return on equity of 0.21% and a net margin of 0.22%. Vericel’s revenue was up 25.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($0.16) EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Vericel will post 0.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Sean C. Flynn sold 6,772 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.02, for a total transaction of $304,875.44. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 487 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,924.74. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other Vericel news, insider Sean C. Flynn sold 6,772 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.02, for a total transaction of $304,875.44. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 487 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,924.74. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Dominick Colangelo sold 17,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.40, for a total value of $899,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 220,937 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,356,161.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 63,791 shares of company stock worth $3,101,269. 5.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Vericel

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of VCEL. MCF Advisors LLC lifted its position in Vericel by 86.1% during the 1st quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 482 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 223 shares during the period. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI acquired a new stake in shares of Vericel during the first quarter worth $27,000. CWM LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Vericel by 319.0% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 662 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 504 shares during the period. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale purchased a new position in Vericel in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new position in Vericel in the 4th quarter valued at $65,000.

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.