Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) Upgraded to Hold at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report released on Tuesday.

VCEL has been the topic of a number of other research reports. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Vericel in a report on Friday, November 8th. Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of Vericel from $61.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Canaccord Genuity Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Vericel in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Vericel from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. Finally, BTIG Research boosted their price target on Vericel from $56.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Vericel presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $61.14.

Vericel Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ:VCEL opened at $57.31 on Tuesday. Vericel has a fifty-two week low of $32.31 and a fifty-two week high of $61.49. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $52.04 and its 200-day simple moving average is $48.34. The company has a market cap of $2.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 955.33 and a beta of 1.70.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Jonathan Mark Hopper sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.72, for a total transaction of $587,200.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 58,371 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,427,545.12. This represents a 14.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Dominick Colangelo sold 17,500 shares of Vericel stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 220,937 shares of the company’s stock, 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. Insiders sold 44,266 shares of company stock worth $2,090,636 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 5.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vericel

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Vericel by 4,126.7% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 634 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 619 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Vericel by 48.1% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,247 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 405 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Vericel by 22.2% in the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 1,773 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $77,000 after acquiring an additional 322 shares during the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Vericel in the third quarter valued at approximately $92,000. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new position in Vericel during the third quarter worth approximately $146,000.

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.