BTIG Research Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) Stock

Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) had its price target raised by research analysts at BTIG Research from $56.00 to $66.00 in a report released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the biotechnology company’s stock. BTIG Research’s price target indicates a potential upside of 14.27% from the company’s previous close.

Several other research analysts also recently weighed in on VCEL. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and set a $60.00 price target on shares of Vericel in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Stephens increased their target price on Vericel from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. StockNews.com raised Vericel from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on Vericel from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group started coverage on shares of Vericel in a research note on Friday, August 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $57.00 target price on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $59.71.

Vericel Price Performance

Vericel stock opened at $57.76 on Tuesday. Vericel has a 12 month low of $32.31 and a 12 month high of $61.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.85 billion, a PE ratio of 962.83 and a beta of 1.66. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $46.92 and a 200-day simple moving average of $47.22.

Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.02) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.05) by $0.03. The company had revenue of $57.91 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $55.32 million. Vericel had a net margin of 1.56% and a return on equity of 1.48%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Vericel will post 0.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Vericel news, Director Robert L. Md Zerbe sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.00, for a total transaction of $150,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 26,595 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,595,700. This trade represents a 8.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Steven C. Gilman sold 5,833 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.35, for a total value of $235,361.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $443,850. This trade represents a 34.65 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 31,666 shares of company stock valued at $1,350,764. Insiders own 7.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Vericel

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC acquired a new position in Vericel during the first quarter worth $6,538,000. Scholtz & Company LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vericel in the 2nd quarter valued at $1,357,000. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. lifted its stake in Vericel by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 1,079,048 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $45,590,000 after acquiring an additional 47,108 shares in the last quarter. Premier Fund Managers Ltd purchased a new position in Vericel during the 3rd quarter valued at about $781,000. Finally, Atria Investments Inc boosted its holdings in Vericel by 21.6% during the 3rd quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 7,768 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $328,000 after acquiring an additional 1,378 shares during the period.

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.