Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL) Receives $57.71 Average PT from Brokerages

Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Buy” from the seven ratings firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $58.14.

VCEL has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Vericel from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Stephens increased their target price on shares of Vericel from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and set a $60.00 target price on shares of Vericel in a research report on Friday, November 8th. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Vericel from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $60.00 target price on shares of Vericel in a research report on Tuesday.

Vericel Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VCEL opened at $56.71 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 954.49 and a beta of 1.66. Vericel has a one year low of $32.31 and a one year high of $58.49. The company’s fifty day moving average is $45.61 and its two-hundred day moving average is $46.87.

Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 1.56% and a return on equity of 1.48%. The business had revenue of $57.91 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $55.32 million. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Vericel will post 0.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Dominick Colangelo sold 17,500 shares of Vericel stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 16th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $9,142,373.06. The trade was a 7.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Steven C. Gilman sold 5,833 shares of Vericel stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.36, for a total transaction of $241,252.88. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 11,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $454,960. This trade represents a 34.65 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 29,166 shares of company stock worth $1,200,764 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 5.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vericel

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd acquired a new position in Vericel in the first quarter worth $595,000. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in Vericel in the first quarter worth about $6,538,000. Scholtz & Company LLC acquired a new stake in Vericel in the second quarter worth about $1,357,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in Vericel by 6.5% in the second quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 420,643 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $19,299,000 after purchasing an additional 25,626 shares during the period. Finally, Congress Asset Management Co. lifted its holdings in Vericel by 37.4% in the third quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 1,291,720 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $54,575,000 after purchasing an additional 351,550 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.