Vericel Corporation (NASDAQ:VCEL) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Vericel Corporation (NASDAQ:VCEL) has been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the seven analysts that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $58.40.

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Vericel from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 18th. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and set a $70.00 price objective on shares of Vericel in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Vericel from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. TD Cowen increased their target price on Vericel from $55.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group set a $60.00 price target on Vericel in a research report on Thursday, July 30th.

Insider Transactions at Vericel

In other news, insider Jonathan Siegal sold 4,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.90, for a total transaction of $220,050.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 1,078 shares in the company, valued at approximately $52,714.20. This represents a 80.67% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Joseph Anthony Mara, Jr. sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.75, for a total value of $223,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 16,009 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $716,402.75. This represents a 23.80% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 52,232 shares of company stock valued at $2,304,217 over the last quarter. 7.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Vericel

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Kestra Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vericel in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Quarry LP bought a new position in Vericel during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its stake in Vericel by 116.5% in the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 970 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 522 shares during the period. Truvestments Capital LLC increased its stake in Vericel by 175.4% in the 4th quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 1,534 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 977 shares during the period. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC bought a new stake in Vericel in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $58,000.

Vericel Trading Down 2.1%

Shares of VCEL opened at $45.36 on Thursday. Vericel has a 12-month low of $28.95 and a 12-month high of $49.32. The company has a market cap of $2.32 billion, a PE ratio of 96.51 and a beta of 1.06. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $42.63 and a 200-day moving average price of $37.57.

Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The biotechnology company reported $0.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.03) by $0.07. The company had revenue of $77.46 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $72.70 million. Vericel had a net margin of 7.91% and a return on equity of 6.91%. Vericel’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned ($0.01) earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Vericel will post 0.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Vericel Company Profile

Vericel Corporation is a biotechnology company specializing in the development, manufacturing and commercialization of cell-based therapies for patients with severe diseases and conditions. The company’s expertise lies in regenerative medicine, where it harnesses the power of autologous cell processing to create products designed to restore function and promote healing in damaged tissues.

Vericel currently markets two FDA-approved therapies. MACI® (autologous cultured chondrocytes on porcine collagen membrane) is indicated for the repair of symptomatic cartilage defects of the knee in adult patients.