Robert L. Md Zerbe Sells 2,500 Shares of Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL) Stock

Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL) Director Robert L. Md Zerbe sold 2,500 shares of Vericel 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 transaction, the director now directly 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Vericel Trading Up 0.2 %

NASDAQ:VCEL opened at $58.75 on Wednesday. Vericel Co. has a 12 month low of $32.31 and a 12 month high of $61.49. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $46.69 and its 200 day moving average is $47.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.90 billion, a PE ratio of 979.17 and a beta of 1.66.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on VCEL. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $60.00 target price on shares of Vericel in a report on Friday, November 8th. Stephens lifted their target price on shares of Vericel from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. BTIG Research upped their target price on Vericel from $56.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Canaccord Genuity Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $60.00 price target on shares of Vericel in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Vericel from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $59.71.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vericel

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Vericel by 1.2% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,413,442 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $177,567,000 after purchasing an additional 39,349 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of Vericel by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,372,812 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $100,251,000 after buying an additional 22,461 shares in the last quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Vericel by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,075,730 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $87,700,000 after buying an additional 34,360 shares during the period. Congress Asset Management Co. grew its stake in Vericel by 37.4% in the 3rd quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 1,291,720 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $54,575,000 after buying an additional 351,550 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Vericel by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,154,053 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $48,768,000 after acquiring an additional 9,613 shares during the period.

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.