Leerink Partnrs Has Bearish Outlook for Vericel Q4 Earnings

Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL) – Equities research analysts at Leerink Partnrs lowered their Q4 2024 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for Vericel in a research note issued to investors on Monday, November 25th. Leerink Partnrs analyst M. Kratky now anticipates that the biotechnology company will post earnings of $0.32 per share for the quarter, down from their prior forecast of $0.33. The consensus estimate for Vericel’s current full-year earnings is $0.13 per share. Leerink Partnrs also issued estimates for Vericel’s Q4 2025 earnings at $0.36 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $0.38 EPS, FY2026 earnings at $0.80 EPS, FY2027 earnings at $1.34 EPS and FY2028 earnings at $1.79 EPS.

Several other analysts also recently issued reports on VCEL. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Vericel from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. StockNews.com raised shares of Vericel from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. BTIG Research lifted their price target on Vericel from $56.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Canaccord Genuity Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $60.00 price objective on shares of Vericel in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Stephens lifted their target price on Vericel from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $59.71.

Vericel Stock Down 1.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ VCEL opened at $57.76 on Tuesday. Vericel has a 52-week low of $32.31 and a 52-week high of $61.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 962.83 and a beta of 1.66. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $46.92 and its 200 day simple moving average is $47.22.

Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.02) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.05) by $0.03. The business had revenue of $57.91 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $55.32 million. Vericel had a net margin of 1.56% and a return on equity of 1.48%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Steven C. Gilman sold 5,833 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.35, for a total value of $235,361.55. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $443,850. This trade represents a 34.65 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Dominick Colangelo sold 17,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.38, for a total transaction of $724,150.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 220,937 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,142,373.06. This represents a 7.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 31,666 shares of company stock valued at $1,350,764 in the last three months. Insiders own 7.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vericel

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of VCEL. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Vericel by 4,126.7% in the 3rd 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. CWM LLC raised its position in shares of Vericel by 319.0% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 662 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 504 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 405 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its position in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Vericel during the third quarter valued at 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.