Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) Shares Up 6.3%

Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL) shares rose 6.3% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $49.43 and last traded at $49.28. Approximately 84,152 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 81% from the average daily volume of 435,789 shares. The stock had previously closed at $46.35.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. BTIG Research decreased their price objective on shares of Vericel from $56.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 15th. StockNews.com raised Vericel from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on Vericel from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. Canaccord Genuity Group started coverage on Vericel in a research report on Friday, August 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $57.00 target price on the stock. Finally, HC Wainwright raised their price target on Vericel from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $55.75.

Vericel Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $2.33 billion, a PE ratio of -4,847.00 and a beta of 1.67. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $48.35 and its 200-day simple moving average is $47.38.

Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The biotechnology company reported ($0.10) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $52.59 million. During the same period last year, the company earned ($0.11) EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 14.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Vericel Co. will post 0.12 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Vericel

In other Vericel news, insider Sean C. Flynn sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.18, for a total value of $782,700.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 707 shares in the company, valued at approximately $36,891.26. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, 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 that occurred on 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 filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Dominick Colangelo sold 17,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.40, for a total transaction of $899,500.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 220,937 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,356,161.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 46,291 shares of company stock valued at $2,329,169. Corporate insiders own 5.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vericel

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of VCEL. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Vericel by 1.2% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,413,442 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $177,567,000 after buying an additional 39,349 shares in the last quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. lifted its stake in Vericel by 1.0% during the second quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 1,031,940 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $47,346,000 after purchasing an additional 10,245 shares during the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Vericel by 7.9% during the second quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 908,141 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $41,666,000 after purchasing an additional 66,464 shares during the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its holdings in Vericel by 34.9% in the second quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 840,787 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $38,575,000 after purchasing an additional 217,437 shares during the period. Finally, Congress Asset Management Co. MA increased its stake in Vericel by 509.1% during the first quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. MA now owns 836,481 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $43,514,000 after purchasing an additional 699,147 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.