Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) Rating Lowered to “Sell” at StockNews.com

Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) was downgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report issued on Thursday.

Several other brokerages have also commented on VCEL. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and set a $60.00 price target on shares of Vericel in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Canaccord Genuity Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $60.00 price target on shares of Vericel in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. 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. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Vericel from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. Finally, Stephens raised Vericel to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $59.71.

Vericel Trading Up 0.8 %

NASDAQ VCEL opened at $57.47 on Thursday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $49.95 and its two-hundred day moving average is $47.87. Vericel has a 12-month low of $32.31 and a 12-month high of $61.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 948.49 and a beta of 1.71.

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

Insider Activity at Vericel

In other Vericel news, insider Jonathan Mark Hopper sold 10,000 shares of the business’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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 58,371 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,427,545.12. The trade was a 14.63 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Paul K. Wotton sold 2,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.72, for a total value of $152,672.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 27,402 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,609,045.44. This trade represents a 8.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 44,266 shares of company stock valued at $2,090,636. 5.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings 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 valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 619 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC raised its holdings in Vericel by 319.0% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 662 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 504 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased 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 buying an additional 405 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Vericel by 22.2% during the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 1,773 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $77,000 after buying an additional 322 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Vericel during the 3rd quarter worth $92,000.

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.