Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) Stock: Insider Joseph Anthony Mara, Jr. Sells 25,000 Shares

Vericel Corporation (NASDAQ:VCEL) CFO Joseph Mara, Jr. sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.26, for a total transaction of $1,456,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 16,186 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $942,996.36. The trade was a 60.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

Vericel Trading Down 0.8%

NASDAQ VCEL opened at $56.96 on Friday. Vericel Corporation has a 1 year low of $28.95 and a 1 year high of $59.75. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $42.78 and a 200 day simple moving average of $39.41. The company has a market cap of $2.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 89.72 and a beta of 1.08.

Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 5th. The biotechnology company reported $0.27 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.06 by $0.21. The firm had revenue of $85.37 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $77.95 million. Vericel had a net margin of 10.27% and a return on equity of 9.09%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 26.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.10 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Vericel Corporation will post 0.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Vericel

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in Vericel in the second quarter worth $360,023,000. Aberdeen Group plc increased its holdings in Vericel by 204.7% in the 3rd quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 2,164,250 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $86,873,000 after buying an additional 1,454,012 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Vericel in the 2nd quarter valued at $88,662,000. Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in Vericel by 19.7% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,098,771 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $35,347,000 after buying an additional 180,761 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Vericel by 3.6% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 844,755 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $27,173,000 after buying an additional 29,135 shares in the last quarter.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on VCEL shares. Zacks Research upgraded Vericel from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 9th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Vericel in a research note on Thursday, October 29th. TD Cowen raised 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. Stephens raised their target price on Vericel from $55.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, HC Wainwright lifted their price target on Vericel from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $62.00.

About Vericel

Vericel Corporation is a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing cell therapies and other treatments for serious conditions. Based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, the company markets its products primarily in the United States. Its products include MACI, an implant made from a patient’s own cultured cartilage cells used to repair certain cartilage defects in the knee, and Epicel, a cultured skin graft used to treat patients with deep burns. Vericel also commercializes NexoBrid in the United States, an enzyme-based treatment for removing dead tissue from severe thermal burns.