Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) Raised to Hold at StockNews.com

Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) was upgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Friday.

Several other analysts have also recently commented on VCEL. Canaccord Genuity Group assumed coverage on Vericel in a research report on Friday, August 9th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $57.00 target price for the company. BTIG Research decreased their price objective on Vericel from $56.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 15th. Truist Financial upped their target price on Vericel from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. Stephens raised their price target on shares of Vericel from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Vericel from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Vericel currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $57.71.

Vericel Trading Up 7.9 %

Shares of VCEL opened at $54.00 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $44.27 and its 200 day moving average price is $46.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.65 billion, a P/E ratio of -5,400,000.00 and a beta of 1.66. Vericel has a 1-year low of $32.28 and a 1-year high of $54.47.

Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.02) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.05) by $0.03. The business had revenue of $57.91 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $55.32 million. Vericel had a net margin of 0.37% and a return on equity of 0.35%. On average, research analysts predict that Vericel will post 0.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Vericel

In related news, Director Steven C. Gilman sold 5,833 shares of Vericel stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were 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 owns 11,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $443,850. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, CEO Dominick Colangelo sold 17,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.38, for a total transaction of $724,150.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 220,937 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,142,373.06. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Steven C. Gilman sold 5,833 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 11,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $443,850. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 29,166 shares of company stock worth $1,200,764 in the last 90 days. 5.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vericel

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VCEL. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Vericel by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,413,442 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $177,567,000 after buying an additional 39,349 shares during the period. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in Vericel by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,075,730 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $87,700,000 after acquiring an additional 34,360 shares during the last quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. lifted its position in Vericel by 37.4% during the 3rd quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 1,291,720 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $54,575,000 after acquiring an additional 351,550 shares during the last quarter. Geneva Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Vericel by 61.4% during the third quarter. Geneva Capital Management LLC now owns 1,104,386 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $46,660,000 after acquiring an additional 420,078 shares during the period. Finally, BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. grew its position in shares of Vericel by 4.6% in the third quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 1,079,048 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $45,590,000 after purchasing an additional 47,108 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.