Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL) Given Average Rating of “Buy” by Analysts

Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL) has received a consensus rating of “Buy” from the seven analysts that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $61.14.

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. TD Cowen boosted 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. BTIG Research upped their target price on Vericel from $56.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Stephens raised Vericel to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. StockNews.com downgraded Vericel from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their target price on Vericel from $61.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday.

Vericel Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ VCEL opened at $56.25 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 937.66 and a beta of 1.71. Vericel has a 12-month low of $32.31 and a 12-month high of $61.49. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $51.15 and its 200-day moving average price is $48.12.

Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.02) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.05) by $0.03. The business had revenue of $57.91 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $55.32 million. Vericel had a return on equity of 1.48% and a net margin of 1.56%. On average, equities analysts predict that Vericel will post 0.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Vericel news, Director Robert L. Md Zerbe sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.00, for a total transaction of $150,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 26,595 shares in the company, valued at $1,595,700. This represents a 8.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Steven C. Gilman sold 5,833 shares of Vericel stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.35, for a total value of $235,361.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 11,000 shares in the company, valued at $443,850. This represents a 34.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 44,266 shares of company stock worth $2,090,636. 5.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vericel

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Vericel by 9.7% in the 2nd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,484 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $114,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Vericel by 22.2% in the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 1,773 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $77,000 after acquiring an additional 322 shares in the last quarter. PFG Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of Vericel by 6.2% during the second quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 6,850 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $314,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Vericel by 48.1% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,247 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 405 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System raised its position in shares of Vericel by 3.3% in the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 12,866 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $590,000 after purchasing an additional 406 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.