Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) Given “Buy” Rating at Truist Financial

Truist Financial reissued their buy rating on shares of Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) in a research note published on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $61.00 price objective on the biotechnology company’s stock, down from their prior price objective of $67.00.

VCEL has been the topic of several other reports. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $60.00 price objective on shares of Vericel in a report on Friday. BTIG Research boosted their price target on Vericel from $56.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price objective on Vericel from $64.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $65.00 target price on shares of Vericel in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Vericel from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Vericel currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $62.29.

Vericel Stock Down 3.5 %

VCEL opened at $49.51 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $2.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 825.30 and a beta of 1.72. Vericel has a 52-week low of $39.12 and a 52-week high of $63.00. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $57.05 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $51.90.

Insider Activity

In other Vericel news, Director Paul K. Wotton sold 2,600 shares of Vericel stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.72, for a total transaction of $152,672.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 27,402 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,609,045.44. The trade was a 8.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Jonathan Siegal sold 1,092 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.99, for a total transaction of $67,693.08. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 1,206 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $74,759.94. This trade represents a 47.52 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 10,100 shares of company stock valued at $618,872. 5.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vericel

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of Vericel by 119.3% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,288,921 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $70,775,000 after purchasing an additional 701,064 shares during the period. Champlain Investment Partners LLC purchased a new position in Vericel during the fourth quarter worth about $34,233,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Vericel during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,126,000. William Blair Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Vericel by 66.3% in the 4th quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 1,258,416 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $69,100,000 after acquiring an additional 501,736 shares during the period. Finally, Geneva Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Vericel by 61.4% in the 3rd quarter. Geneva Capital Management LLC now owns 1,104,386 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $46,660,000 after acquiring an additional 420,078 shares during the last quarter.

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.