Vericel Corporation (NASDAQ:VCEL) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Vericel Corporation (NASDAQ:VCEL) have been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the seven research firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $58.40.

VCEL has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and set a $70.00 price target on shares of Vericel in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Vericel from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 18th. TD Cowen upped their target price on Vericel from $55.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Canaccord Genuity Group set a $60.00 price target on Vericel in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and set a $58.00 price target (up from $54.00) on shares of Vericel in a research report on Friday, July 31st.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Jonathan Hopper sold 10,000 shares of Vericel stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.00, for a total transaction of $450,000.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 75,753 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,408,885. The trade was a 11.66% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Jonathan Siegal sold 4,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.90, for a total value of $220,050.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 1,078 shares in the company, valued at $52,714.20. This represents a 80.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 52,232 shares of company stock valued at $2,304,217 over the last three months. 7.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of VCEL. Kestra Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vericel in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vericel during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in Vericel in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its position in Vericel by 116.5% in the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 970 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 522 shares during the period. Finally, Allworth Financial LP acquired a new position in Vericel during the second quarter worth $60,000.

Vericel Stock Performance

Shares of VCEL stock opened at $40.19 on Monday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $44.72 and its two-hundred day moving average is $38.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 85.51 and a beta of 1.04. Vericel has a fifty-two week low of $28.95 and a fifty-two week high of $49.32.

Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The biotechnology company reported $0.04 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 22.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($0.01) EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Vericel will post 0.54 earnings per share for the current year.

About Vericel

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.