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

Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) was upgraded by investment analysts at StockNews.com from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report released on Monday.

VCEL has been the topic of a number of other reports. Canaccord Genuity Group initiated coverage on shares of Vericel in a research report on Friday, August 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $57.00 price objective on the stock. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Vericel from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. Truist Financial raised their target price on Vericel from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. BTIG Research lowered their price target on shares of Vericel from $56.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 15th. Finally, HC Wainwright upped their price objective on shares of Vericel from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $55.75.

Vericel Stock Performance

Shares of VCEL stock traded down $0.94 on Monday, hitting $42.25. 416,795 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 438,827. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4,225.00 and a beta of 1.67. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $47.63 and its 200 day simple moving average is $47.42. Vericel has a one year low of $30.18 and a one year high of $54.10.

Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The biotechnology company reported ($0.10) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of ($0.10). The firm had revenue of $52.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $52.59 million. Vericel had a net margin of 0.37% and a return on equity of 0.35%. The business’s revenue was up 14.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned ($0.11) earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Vericel will post 0.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Vericel

In related news, insider Sean C. Flynn sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.18, for a total transaction of $782,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 707 shares in the company, valued at approximately $36,891.26. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Dominick Colangelo sold 17,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.40, for a total value of $899,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 220,937 shares in the company, valued at $11,356,161.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Sean C. Flynn sold 15,000 shares of Vericel stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.18, for a total value of $782,700.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 707 shares in the company, valued at approximately $36,891.26. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 38,045 shares of company stock worth $1,956,725. Corporate insiders own 5.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vericel

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Congress Asset Management Co. MA boosted its position in shares of Vericel by 509.1% during the 1st quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. MA now owns 836,481 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $43,514,000 after acquiring an additional 699,147 shares during the last quarter. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Vericel in the 1st quarter valued at about $12,782,000. Federated Hermes Inc. grew its position in Vericel by 34.9% in the second quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 840,787 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $38,575,000 after acquiring an additional 217,437 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Vericel by 51.5% during the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 611,146 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $28,039,000 after acquiring an additional 207,714 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geneva Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Vericel by 43.6% in the 1st quarter. Geneva Capital Management LLC now owns 679,165 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $35,330,000 after purchasing an additional 206,202 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.