Leerink Partnrs Has Negative Outlook of Vericel Q4 Earnings

Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL) – Stock analysts at Leerink Partnrs reduced their Q4 2024 EPS estimates for Vericel in a research note issued on Monday, November 25th. Leerink Partnrs analyst M. Kratky now forecasts that the biotechnology company will earn $0.32 per share for the quarter, down from their prior forecast of $0.33. The consensus estimate for Vericel’s current full-year earnings is $0.13 per share. Leerink Partnrs also issued estimates for Vericel’s Q4 2025 earnings at $0.36 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $0.38 EPS, FY2026 earnings at $0.80 EPS, FY2027 earnings at $1.34 EPS and FY2028 earnings at $1.79 EPS.

Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.02) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.05) by $0.03. The company had revenue of $57.91 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $55.32 million. Vericel had a net margin of 1.56% and a return on equity of 1.48%.

A number of other brokerages have also recently weighed in on VCEL. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and issued a $60.00 price target on shares of Vericel in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Stephens raised their price target on Vericel from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Canaccord Genuity Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Vericel in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Canaccord Genuity Group initiated coverage on Vericel in a research report on Friday, August 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $57.00 price objective for the company. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Vericel from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Vericel currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $59.71.

Vericel Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VCEL opened at $58.75 on Tuesday. Vericel has a 1-year low of $32.31 and a 1-year high of $61.49. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $46.69 and a 200 day moving average price of $47.14. The company has a market cap of $2.90 billion, a PE ratio of 979.17 and a beta of 1.66.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vericel

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Geneva Capital Management LLC raised its position in Vericel by 61.4% in the 3rd quarter. Geneva Capital Management LLC now owns 1,104,386 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $46,660,000 after purchasing an additional 420,078 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in Vericel by 214.0% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 587,857 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $24,837,000 after purchasing an additional 400,667 shares during the last quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. raised its position in Vericel by 37.4% in the 3rd quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 1,291,720 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $54,575,000 after purchasing an additional 351,550 shares during the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. raised its position in Vericel by 34.9% in the 2nd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 840,787 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $38,575,000 after purchasing an additional 217,437 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TimesSquare Capital Management LLC raised its position in Vericel by 54.8% in the 3rd quarter. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC now owns 590,145 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $24,934,000 after purchasing an additional 209,009 shares during the last quarter.

Insider Transactions at Vericel

In other Vericel news, CEO Dominick Colangelo sold 17,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.38, for a total value of $724,150.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 220,937 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,142,373.06. This trade represents a 7.34 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Steven C. Gilman sold 5,833 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.35, for a total value of $235,361.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $443,850. The trade was a 34.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 31,666 shares of company stock worth $1,350,764. 5.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.