StockNews.com Upgrades Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) to Hold

Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) was upgraded by research analysts at StockNews.com from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report released on Wednesday.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the company. TD Cowen began coverage on Vericel in a report on Thursday, June 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $55.00 price target for the company. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Vericel from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. HC Wainwright boosted their target price on shares of Vericel from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 9th. Finally, BTIG Research dropped their price objective on shares of Vericel from $56.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $51.33.

Vericel Price Performance

VCEL stock opened at $51.70 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $47.12 and a 200 day simple moving average of $46.30. The stock has a market cap of $2.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5,164.84 and a beta of 1.70. Vericel has a 1 year low of $30.18 and a 1 year high of $54.08.

Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 8th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.08) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.11) by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $51.28 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $49.07 million. Vericel had a net margin of 0.22% and a return on equity of 0.21%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 25.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned ($0.16) earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Vericel will post 0.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Vericel

In related news, CEO Dominick Colangelo sold 17,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.40, for a total transaction of $899,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 220,937 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,356,161.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Dominick Colangelo sold 17,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.40, for a total transaction of $899,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 220,937 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,356,161.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Sean C. Flynn sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.18, for a total value of $782,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 707 shares in the company, valued at approximately $36,891.26. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 63,791 shares of company stock valued at $3,101,269 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 5.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vericel

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. MCF Advisors LLC grew its stake in Vericel by 86.1% in the 1st quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 482 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 223 shares in the last quarter. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI bought a new stake in shares of Vericel during the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. CWM LLC lifted its holdings in Vericel by 319.0% during the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 662 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 504 shares in the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale bought a new stake in shares of Vericel during the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new position in shares of Vericel in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $65,000.

About Vericel

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.