Analysts Set Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL) Price Target at $62.14

Shares of Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Buy” from the seven analysts that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $63.14.

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on VCEL. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price target on Vericel from $64.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $60.00 price target on shares of Vericel in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Vericel from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 24th. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $65.00 target price on shares of Vericel in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, BTIG Research raised their price target on Vericel from $56.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th.

Vericel Trading Down 3.4 %

VCEL stock opened at $59.70 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $57.80 and a 200-day moving average of $51.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 995.17 and a beta of 1.72. Vericel has a 12 month low of $39.12 and a 12 month high of $63.00.

Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 analyst estimates of $55.32 million. Sell-side analysts predict that Vericel will post 0.14 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Jonathan Mark Hopper sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.72, for a total value of $587,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 58,371 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,427,545.12. This trade represents a 14.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Robert L. Md Zerbe sold 2,500 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 26,595 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,595,700. The trade was a 8.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 19,008 shares of company stock valued at $1,132,129 over the last three months. 7.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Vericel

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of VCEL. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Vericel by 4,126.7% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 634 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 619 shares during the last quarter. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI bought a new position in Vericel in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Vericel by 48.1% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,247 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 405 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Vericel by 511.1% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,265 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $70,000 after purchasing an additional 1,058 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its stake 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 purchasing an additional 322 shares during the last quarter.

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.