Vericel Corporation (NASDAQ:VCEL) Given Consensus Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of Vericel Corporation (NASDAQ:VCEL) have received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the seven analysts that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $55.50.

VCEL has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Truist Financial boosted their price target on Vericel from $42.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Weiss Ratings raised Vericel from a “sell (d)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 16th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Vericel from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, June 14th. Finally, HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $64.00 price objective on shares of Vericel in a report on Friday, May 8th.

Insider Activity at Vericel

In other news, insider Jonathan Siegal sold 2,732 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 886 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $39,781.40. This represents a 75.51% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Jonathan Mark Hopper sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.00, for a total transaction of $450,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 75,753 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,408,885. This trade represents a 11.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 47,732 shares of company stock worth $2,084,167 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 7.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vericel

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Congress Asset Management Co. raised its position in Vericel by 11.4% in the fourth quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 1,664,578 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $59,941,000 after acquiring an additional 169,971 shares in the last quarter. Aberdeen Group plc lifted its holdings in Vericel by 7.6% in the 4th quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 583,884 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $21,026,000 after acquiring an additional 41,018 shares during the last quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Vericel by 22.5% during the 4th quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC now owns 1,580,967 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $56,931,000 after purchasing an additional 290,795 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its position in shares of Vericel by 2,152.6% during the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 45,885 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,652,000 after purchasing an additional 43,848 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Madison Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vericel in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,819,000.

Vericel Trading Up 2.3%

Shares of NASDAQ:VCEL opened at $47.81 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $39.30 and its two-hundred day moving average is $36.75. Vericel has a 52 week low of $28.95 and a 52 week high of $48.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 113.84 and a beta of 1.07.

Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) last released its quarterly 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 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 analysts’ expectations of $63.68 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($0.23) earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 30.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Vericel will post 0.49 EPS for the current year.

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.