Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Buy” from Analysts

Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Buy” from the nine research firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $55.75.

Several brokerages have recently commented on VCEL. Stephens boosted their target price on Vericel from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Canaccord Genuity Group initiated coverage on Vericel in a report on Friday, August 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $57.00 target price on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group began coverage on Vericel in a research note on Friday, August 9th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $57.00 target price for the company. BTIG Research reduced their price target on shares of Vericel from $56.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 15th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Vericel from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th.

Vericel Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VCEL opened at $47.97 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4,797.00 and a beta of 1.70. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $48.53 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $47.57. Vericel has a fifty-two week low of $30.18 and a fifty-two week high of $54.10.

Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The biotechnology company reported ($0.10) earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of ($0.10). The business had revenue of $52.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $52.59 million. Vericel had a net margin of 0.37% and a return on equity of 0.35%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 14.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.11) EPS. Research analysts expect that Vericel will post 0.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Vericel news, insider Sean C. Flynn sold 6,772 shares of the firm’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 value of $304,875.44. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 487 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,924.74. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Sean C. Flynn sold 6,772 shares of the business’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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 487 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,924.74. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Dominick Colangelo sold 17,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.12, for a total value of $772,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 220,752 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,739,578.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 63,791 shares of company stock valued at $3,101,269 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 5.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vericel

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in VCEL. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its holdings in Vericel by 104.9% during the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 4,108 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $188,000 after acquiring an additional 2,103 shares in the last quarter. Algert Global LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vericel during the second quarter worth about $213,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its holdings in shares of Vericel by 5.4% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 26,472 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,215,000 after purchasing an additional 1,355 shares in the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vericel in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $513,000. Finally, Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its stake in Vericel by 9.3% during the 2nd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 106,911 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $4,905,000 after purchasing an additional 9,084 shares in the last quarter.

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.