Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) Reaches New 12-Month High – Should You Buy?

Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $61.65 and last traded at $61.69, with a volume of 63215 shares. The stock had previously closed at $59.72.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on VCEL shares. BTIG Research boosted 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. Canaccord Genuity Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $60.00 price target on shares of Vericel in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $65.00 target price on shares of Vericel in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. StockNews.com raised shares of Vericel from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 24th. Finally, HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and set a $60.00 target price on shares of Vericel in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $62.14.

Vericel Stock Up 1.2 %

The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $57.62 and a 200 day moving average price of $50.69. The company has a market cap of $2.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 995.37 and a beta of 1.72.

Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.02) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.05) by $0.03. Vericel had a net margin of 1.56% and a return on equity of 1.48%. The company had revenue of $57.91 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $55.32 million. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Vericel Co. will post 0.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Vericel news, Director Robert L. Md Zerbe sold 2,500 shares of Vericel stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.00, for a total value of $150,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 26,595 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,595,700. The trade was a 8.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Jonathan Mark Hopper sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.72, for a total transaction of $587,200.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 58,371 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,427,545.12. The trade was a 14.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 15,100 shares of company stock valued at $889,872. 5.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of Vericel by 214.0% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 587,857 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $24,837,000 after acquiring an additional 400,667 shares in the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp increased its stake in shares of Vericel by 40.0% during the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 28,073 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,186,000 after purchasing an additional 8,020 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted 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 worth $48,768,000 after purchasing an additional 9,613 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Vericel in the 3rd quarter valued at $563,000. Finally, BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. lifted its holdings in shares of Vericel by 4.6% during the third quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 1,079,048 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $45,590,000 after buying an additional 47,108 shares in 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.