Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL) Receives Average Recommendation of “Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL) have been assigned an average rating of “Buy” from the nine analysts that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $55.75.

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group started coverage on shares of Vericel in a report on Friday, August 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $57.00 price objective on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group assumed coverage on shares of Vericel in a research report on Friday, August 9th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $57.00 price target on the stock. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Vericel from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. TD Cowen raised their target price on Vericel from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Vericel from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Sean C. Flynn sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.18, for a total transaction of $782,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 707 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $36,891.26. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related 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 owns 707 shares in the company, valued at $36,891.26. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Dominick Colangelo sold 17,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 18th. The stock was 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. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 38,045 shares of company stock valued at $1,956,725. Insiders own 5.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vericel

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Vericel by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 730,426 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $26,011,000 after buying an additional 8,080 shares in the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Vericel in the fourth quarter worth $566,000. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in shares of Vericel by 13.6% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 25,743 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $917,000 after purchasing an additional 3,089 shares in the last quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Vericel by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. now owns 181,459 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $6,462,000 after purchasing an additional 4,171 shares during the period. Finally, Intrinsic Edge Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Vericel by 7.9% during the 4th quarter. Intrinsic Edge Capital Management LLC now owns 204,344 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $7,277,000 after purchasing an additional 15,000 shares in the last quarter.

Vericel Trading Down 2.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ VCEL opened at $43.19 on Monday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $47.63 and its 200-day moving average price is $47.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.10 billion, a P/E ratio of -4,319.00 and a beta of 1.67. Vericel has a 1-year low of $30.18 and a 1-year high of $54.10.

Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The biotechnology company reported ($0.10) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of ($0.10). Vericel had a return on equity of 0.35% and a net margin of 0.37%. The business had revenue of $52.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $52.59 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($0.11) earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 14.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Vericel will post 0.12 EPS for the current year.

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.