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

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

VCEL has been the topic of several other research reports. Stephens boosted their price target on Vericel from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. BTIG Research reduced their price objective on shares of Vericel from $56.00 to $55.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 15th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Vericel from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. Canaccord Genuity Group started coverage on shares of Vericel in a research note on Friday, August 9th. They issued a buy rating and a $57.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price target on Vericel from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Vericel currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $55.75.

Vericel Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VCEL opened at $46.57 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $48.29 and its 200 day simple moving average is $47.39. The company has a market cap of $2.26 billion, a P/E ratio of -4,657.00 and a beta of 1.67. Vericel has a one year low of $30.18 and a one year high of $54.10.

Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The biotechnology company reported ($0.10) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.10). The company had revenue of $52.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $52.59 million. Vericel had a net margin of 0.37% and a return on equity of 0.35%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 14.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($0.11) earnings per share. Analysts predict that Vericel will post 0.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vericel

In other news, insider Sean C. Flynn sold 1,474 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.84, for a total transaction of $67,568.16. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 487 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,324.08. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Vericel news, insider Sean C. Flynn sold 1,474 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.84, for a total value of $67,568.16. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 487 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,324.08. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Sean C. Flynn sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.18, for a total transaction of $782,700.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 707 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $36,891.26. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 39,519 shares of company stock worth $2,024,293 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 5.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vericel

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. MCF Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Vericel by 86.1% in the 1st quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 482 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 223 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC grew its stake in shares of Vericel by 319.0% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 662 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 504 shares in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Vericel by 9.7% during the second quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,484 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $114,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Vericel by 178.7% during the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 2,584 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $134,000 after purchasing an additional 1,657 shares in the last quarter. Finally, RiverPark Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Vericel in the first quarter worth about $147,000.

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.