Vericel Corporation (NASDAQ:VCEL) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of Vericel Corporation (NASDAQ:VCEL) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the seven research firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $55.50.

Several research firms have recently weighed in on VCEL. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Vericel from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $64.00 target price on shares of Vericel in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Truist Financial increased their target price on Vericel from $42.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Vericel from a “sell (d)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 16th.

Insider Transactions at Vericel

In related news, insider Jonathan Siegal sold 2,732 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.90, for a total value of $122,666.80. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 886 shares in the company, valued at $39,781.40. The trade was a 75.51% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Jonathan Mark Hopper sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.00, for a total value of $450,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 75,753 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,408,885. This represents a 11.66% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 47,732 shares of company stock valued at $2,084,167 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 7.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vericel

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Kestra Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Vericel during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Quarry LP purchased a new position in Vericel in the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Vericel by 116.5% in the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 970 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 522 shares during the last quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC lifted its stake in Vericel by 175.4% in the fourth quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 1,534 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 977 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new stake in Vericel during the fourth quarter valued at about $58,000.

Vericel Trading Down 2.4%

Shares of NASDAQ VCEL opened at $46.64 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $39.57 and a 200-day moving average of $36.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 111.05 and a beta of 1.07. Vericel has a 12 month low of $28.95 and a 12 month high of $48.75.

Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.12) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.15) by $0.03. Vericel had a net margin of 7.35% and a return on equity of 6.41%. The business had revenue of $68.43 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $63.68 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted ($0.23) earnings per share. Vericel’s quarterly revenue was up 30.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Vericel will post 0.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Vericel Company Profile

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.