Brokerages Set Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL) Price Target at $59.71

Shares of Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Buy” from the seven ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $59.71.

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on VCEL. Stephens raised Vericel to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. BTIG Research lifted their price target on Vericel from $56.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Canaccord Genuity Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $60.00 price target on shares of Vericel in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on Vericel from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Vericel from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th.

Vericel Stock Down 1.8 %

VCEL stock opened at $56.46 on Friday. Vericel has a twelve month low of $32.31 and a twelve month high of $61.49. The company has a market cap of $2.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 941.00 and a beta of 1.71. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $50.54 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $48.00.

Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $55.32 million. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Vericel will post 0.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Steven C. Gilman sold 5,833 shares of Vericel stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director now owns 11,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $443,850. This trade represents a 34.65 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Dominick Colangelo sold 17,500 shares of Vericel stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.38, for a total value of $724,150.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 220,937 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,142,373.06. The trade was a 7.34 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 44,266 shares of company stock worth $2,090,636. Insiders own 5.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vericel

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in Vericel by 4,126.7% during the 3rd 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. CWM LLC lifted its holdings in Vericel by 319.0% during the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 662 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 504 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in 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 period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in 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 period. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Vericel during the 3rd quarter worth about $92,000.

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.