HC Wainwright Boosts Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) Price Target to $55.00

Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) had its price target upped by HC Wainwright from $53.00 to $55.00 in a research report sent to investors on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the biotechnology company’s stock. HC Wainwright also issued estimates for Vericel’s Q1 2025 earnings at $0.04 EPS, Q2 2025 earnings at $0.02 EPS and Q4 2025 earnings at $0.30 EPS.

A number of other research firms also recently commented on VCEL. Truist Financial reaffirmed a buy rating and set a $54.00 target price on shares of Vericel in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. TheStreet raised Vericel from a d+ rating to a c- rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $46.80.

Vericel Price Performance

VCEL opened at $48.10 on Thursday. Vericel has a 12-month low of $30.18 and a 12-month high of $53.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.34 billion, a PE ratio of -4,805.19 and a beta of 1.74. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $47.37 and its 200 day moving average price is $41.76.

Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 8th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.08) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.11) by $0.03. Vericel had a net margin of 0.22% and a return on equity of 0.21%. The business had revenue of $51.28 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $49.07 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted ($0.16) EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 25.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Vericel will post 0.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Robert L. Md Zerbe sold 3,278 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.57, for a total value of $169,046.46. Following the sale, the director now owns 23,395 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,206,480.15. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Vericel news, SVP Sean C. Flynn sold 8,115 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.33, for a total transaction of $367,852.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 167 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,570.11. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Robert L. Md Zerbe sold 3,278 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.57, for a total transaction of $169,046.46. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 23,395 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,206,480.15. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 54,267 shares of company stock valued at $2,450,996. 5.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vericel

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in VCEL. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Vericel by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,413,442 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $177,567,000 after acquiring an additional 39,349 shares in the last quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Vericel by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,339,960 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $83,326,000 after purchasing an additional 109,215 shares in the last quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund lifted its holdings in Vericel by 2.8% in the third quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 1,091,682 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $36,593,000 after purchasing an additional 30,123 shares during the period. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. grew its position in Vericel by 10.9% in the 1st quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 1,021,695 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $53,149,000 after buying an additional 100,797 shares in the last quarter. Finally, William Blair Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Vericel by 59.5% during the 3rd quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 855,207 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $28,667,000 after buying an additional 318,916 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.