Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) Receives Buy Rating from HC Wainwright

HC Wainwright reaffirmed their buy rating on shares of Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) in a research note released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $60.00 price target on the biotechnology company’s stock. HC Wainwright also issued estimates for Vericel’s Q4 2024 earnings at $0.33 EPS, FY2024 earnings at $0.16 EPS, Q1 2025 earnings at $0.03 EPS, Q2 2025 earnings at $0.00 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $0.05 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $0.26 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $0.35 EPS, FY2026 earnings at $0.86 EPS, FY2027 earnings at $1.25 EPS, FY2028 earnings at $2.02 EPS and FY2029 earnings at $2.80 EPS.

VCEL has been the topic of several other research reports. Truist Financial increased their price target on Vericel from $61.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. StockNews.com raised shares of Vericel from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 24th. BTIG Research lifted their price target on shares of Vericel from $56.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Stephens upgraded shares of Vericel to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 2nd. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $60.00 price objective on shares of Vericel in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $62.14.

Vericel Stock Up 4.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ:VCEL opened at $59.07 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $57.03 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $50.03. Vericel has a 52 week low of $37.36 and a 52 week high of $61.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 984.66 and a beta of 1.72.

Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.02) EPS for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $57.91 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $55.32 million. On average, analysts expect that Vericel will post 0.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Jonathan Mark Hopper sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.72, for a total value of $587,200.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 58,371 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,427,545.12. This represents a 14.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Paul K. Wotton sold 2,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 $1,609,045.44. The trade was a 8.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 15,100 shares of company stock valued at $889,872 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 7.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vericel

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in Vericel by 22.2% in the third 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. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Vericel by 48.1% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,247 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 405 shares in the last quarter. PFG Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of Vericel by 8.0% in the 3rd quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 7,400 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $313,000 after purchasing an additional 550 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Vericel by 4,126.7% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 634 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 619 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Vericel by 4.0% during the third quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 16,890 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $714,000 after buying an additional 644 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.