Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) Cut to “Sell” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday.

A number of other equities analysts also recently issued reports on the company. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $60.00 price target on shares of Vericel in a report on Friday, November 8th. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Vericel from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. Canaccord Genuity Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $60.00 price target on shares of Vericel in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Stephens raised Vericel to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. Finally, BTIG Research upped their price objective on shares of Vericel from $56.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $59.71.

Vericel Stock Performance

Shares of VCEL opened at $57.47 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $50.23 and its two-hundred day moving average is $47.93. The company has a market capitalization of $2.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 957.99 and a beta of 1.71. Vericel has a fifty-two week low of $32.31 and a fifty-two week high of $61.49.

Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 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 analysts’ expectations of $55.32 million. Analysts forecast that Vericel will post 0.13 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Vericel

In related news, Director Paul K. Wotton sold 2,600 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.72, for a total value of $152,672.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 27,402 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,609,045.44. This represents a 8.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Dominick Colangelo sold 17,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 220,937 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,142,373.06. The trade was a 7.34 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 44,266 shares of company stock valued at $2,090,636. Company insiders own 5.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vericel

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Intech Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vericel during the 3rd quarter worth about $563,000. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. boosted its stake in Vericel by 4.6% in the 3rd 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 purchasing an additional 47,108 shares during the period. Scholtz & Company LLC acquired a new position in Vericel during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,357,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in 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 buying an additional 400,667 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Premier Fund Managers Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Vericel during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $781,000.

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.