Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) Stock Price Passes Above 200-Day Moving Average – Time to Sell?

Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL) crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Tuesday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $49.27 and traded as high as $59.43. Vericel shares last traded at $58.08, with a volume of 394,963 shares changing hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on VCEL. BTIG Research upped their price target on Vericel from $56.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. StockNews.com raised shares of Vericel from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 24th. Canaccord Genuity Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $60.00 price target on shares of Vericel in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Stephens raised shares of Vericel to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of Vericel from $61.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $61.14.

Vericel Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $2.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 968.16 and a beta of 1.72. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $55.12 and its two-hundred day moving average is $49.36.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Dominick Colangelo sold 17,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.38, for a total value of $724,150.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 220,937 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,142,373.06. This trade represents a 7.34 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Paul K. Wotton sold 2,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.72, for a total value of $152,672.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 27,402 shares in the company, valued at $1,609,045.44. The trade was a 8.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 38,433 shares of company stock valued at $1,855,275 in the last quarter. 5.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vericel

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in VCEL. Diversified Trust Co bought a new position in Vericel during the 4th quarter valued at about $356,000. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in shares of Vericel by 14.0% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 33,543 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,412,000 after buying an additional 4,117 shares during the period. Synovus Financial Corp grew its stake in shares of Vericel by 38.5% during the third quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 11,576 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $489,000 after buying an additional 3,219 shares during the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vericel in the third quarter worth approximately $185,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Vericel by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,154,053 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $48,768,000 after acquiring an additional 9,613 shares during 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.