Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) Sets New 1-Year High Following Earnings Beat

Shares of Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Friday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock traded as high as $54.47 and last traded at $53.94, with a volume of 225594 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $50.03.

The biotechnology company reported ($0.02) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.05) by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $57.91 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $55.32 million. Vericel had a return on equity of 0.35% and a net margin of 0.37%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on VCEL shares. StockNews.com raised Vericel from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. TD Cowen increased their price objective on Vericel from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $60.00 price objective on shares of Vericel in a research note on Friday. BTIG Research dropped their price objective on Vericel from $56.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 15th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price objective on Vericel from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $57.71.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Steven C. Gilman sold 5,833 shares of Vericel stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.35, for a total value of $235,361.55. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $443,850. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Dominick Colangelo sold 17,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.38, for a total value of $724,150.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 220,937 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,142,373.06. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Steven C. Gilman sold 5,833 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.35, for a total value of $235,361.55. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 11,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $443,850. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 29,166 shares of company stock worth $1,200,764. 5.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Vericel

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in Vericel by 9.7% during the 2nd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,484 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $114,000 after acquiring an additional 220 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its position in Vericel by 22.2% during the 3rd 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 during the period. Swiss National Bank lifted its position in Vericel by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 89,500 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $4,656,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the period. PFG Investments LLC lifted its position in Vericel by 6.2% during the 2nd 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 period. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its position in Vericel by 48.1% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,247 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 405 shares during the period.

Vericel Trading Up 7.9 %

The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $44.27 and a 200 day simple moving average of $46.40. The company has a market cap of $2.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 900.00 and a beta of 1.66.

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.