StockNews.com Upgrades Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) to Hold

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report published on Wednesday.

VCEL has been the subject of several other research reports. TD Cowen initiated coverage on Vericel in a research note on Thursday, June 20th. They issued a buy rating and a $55.00 price target for the company. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Vericel from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. HC Wainwright raised their price target on shares of Vericel from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Thursday, May 9th. Finally, BTIG Research reduced their price objective on shares of Vericel from $56.00 to $55.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Vericel currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $51.33.

Vericel Stock Performance

Vericel stock opened at $52.32 on Wednesday. Vericel has a twelve month low of $30.18 and a twelve month high of $54.08. The firm has a market cap of $2.54 billion, a PE ratio of -5,232.00 and a beta of 1.70. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $47.20 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $46.48.

Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 8th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.08) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.11) by $0.03. The business had revenue of $51.28 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $49.07 million. Vericel had a net margin of 0.22% and a return on equity of 0.21%. Vericel’s revenue for the quarter was up 25.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted ($0.16) earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Vericel will post 0.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Dominick Colangelo sold 17,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.12, for a total transaction of $772,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 220,752 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,739,578.24. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Vericel news, CFO Joseph Anthony Mara, Jr. sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, July 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total value of $250,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 14,436 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $721,800. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Dominick Colangelo sold 17,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.12, for a total transaction of $772,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 220,752 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,739,578.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 63,791 shares of company stock valued at $3,101,269. Company insiders own 5.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vericel

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Congress Asset Management Co. MA boosted its position in shares of Vericel by 509.1% during the 1st quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. MA now owns 836,481 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $43,514,000 after acquiring an additional 699,147 shares in the last quarter. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Vericel in the first quarter valued at $12,782,000. Geneva Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Vericel by 43.6% during the first quarter. Geneva Capital Management LLC now owns 679,165 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $35,330,000 after acquiring an additional 206,202 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Vericel by 61.2% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 410,488 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $21,354,000 after purchasing an additional 155,871 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vericel in the 1st quarter valued at $6,538,000.

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.