BTIG Research Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) Stock

Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) had its target price upped by BTIG Research from $56.00 to $66.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “buy” rating on the biotechnology company’s stock. BTIG Research’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 14.27% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other research firms have also recently commented on VCEL. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Vericel from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Canaccord Genuity Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Vericel in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $60.00 target price on shares of Vericel in a report on Friday, November 8th. Stephens lifted their price target on Vericel from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price objective on Vericel from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Vericel currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $59.71.

Vericel Trading Down 1.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ VCEL opened at $57.76 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $2.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 962.83 and a beta of 1.66. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $46.92 and its 200-day simple moving average is $47.22. Vericel has a 12-month low of $32.31 and a 12-month high of $61.49.

Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.02) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.05) by $0.03. Vericel had a return on equity of 1.48% and a net margin of 1.56%. The company had revenue of $57.91 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $55.32 million. On average, equities analysts forecast that Vericel will post 0.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Robert L. Md Zerbe sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.00, for a total transaction of $150,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 26,595 shares in the company, valued at $1,595,700. This represents a 8.59 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Dominick Colangelo sold 17,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.38, for a total transaction of $724,150.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 220,937 shares in the company, valued at $9,142,373.06. The trade was a 7.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 31,666 shares of company stock valued at $1,350,764. 7.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vericel

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. 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 during the last quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co raised its stake in shares of Vericel by 7.8% during the first quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 58,377 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $3,036,000 after purchasing an additional 4,227 shares during the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Vericel by 25.7% during the first quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 16,508 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $859,000 after purchasing an additional 3,374 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its position in Vericel by 178.7% in the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 2,584 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $134,000 after buying an additional 1,657 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in Vericel by 6.7% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 27,280 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,420,000 after buying an additional 1,721 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.