Jonathan Siegal Sells 2,732 Shares of Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) Stock

Vericel Corporation (NASDAQ:VCEL) insider Jonathan Siegal sold 2,732 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.90, for a total value of $122,666.80. Following the sale, the insider owned 886 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $39,781.40. This trade represents a 75.51% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link.

Vericel Stock Up 1.5%

VCEL opened at $45.15 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $2.31 billion, a PE ratio of 107.50 and a beta of 1.06. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $36.69 and a 200-day simple moving average of $35.95. Vericel Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $28.95 and a fifty-two week high of $46.62.

Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.12) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.15) by $0.03. Vericel had a return on equity of 6.41% and a net margin of 7.35%.The company had revenue of $68.43 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $63.68 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.23) earnings per share. Vericel’s revenue for the quarter was up 30.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Vericel Corporation will post 0.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vericel

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Huntington National Bank boosted its stake in shares of Vericel by 51.3% during the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 805 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 273 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue raised its holdings in shares of Vericel by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 25,744 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $927,000 after acquiring an additional 353 shares in the last quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Vericel by 13.7% during the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 2,937 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $125,000 after acquiring an additional 353 shares in the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its position in Vericel by 0.8% during the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 45,404 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,932,000 after purchasing an additional 382 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its stake in Vericel by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 11,698 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $421,000 after purchasing an additional 410 shares in the last quarter.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Vericel from a “sell (d)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 16th. Leerink Partners restated an “outperform” rating and set a $46.00 price target on shares of Vericel in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Vericel from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, June 14th. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $64.00 price objective on shares of Vericel in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Truist Financial cut their target price on shares of Vericel from $48.00 to $42.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $52.50.

About Vericel

Vericel Corporation is a biotechnology company specializing in the development, manufacturing and commercialization of cell-based therapies for patients with severe diseases and conditions. The company’s expertise lies in regenerative medicine, where it harnesses the power of autologous cell processing to create products designed to restore function and promote healing in damaged tissues.

Vericel currently markets two FDA-approved therapies. MACI® (autologous cultured chondrocytes on porcine collagen membrane) is indicated for the repair of symptomatic cartilage defects of the knee in adult patients.