BTIG Research Issues Positive Forecast for Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) Stock Price

Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) had its price objective increased by BTIG Research from $56.00 to $66.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the biotechnology company’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also issued reports on the company. Canaccord Genuity Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $60.00 target price on shares of Vericel in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Stephens upped their target price on Vericel from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Vericel from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. Canaccord Genuity Group began coverage on shares of Vericel in a research note on Friday, August 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $57.00 price objective for the company. Finally, HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $60.00 price objective on shares of Vericel in a research note on Friday, November 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Vericel has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $59.71.

Vericel Price Performance

Shares of VCEL stock opened at $58.75 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 979.17 and a beta of 1.66. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $46.69 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $47.14. Vericel has a one year low of $32.31 and a one year high of $61.49.

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

Insider Activity at Vericel

In other Vericel news, Director Steven C. Gilman sold 5,833 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.35, for a total value of $235,361.55. Following the sale, the director now owns 11,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $443,850. The trade was a 34.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Robert L. Md Zerbe sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.00, for a total value of $150,000.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 26,595 shares in the company, valued at $1,595,700. This represents a 8.59 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 31,666 shares of company stock worth $1,350,764. Insiders own 5.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vericel

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vericel during the first quarter worth about $6,538,000. Scholtz & Company LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vericel during the second quarter worth about $1,357,000. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. boosted its stake in shares of Vericel by 4.6% during the third 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 buying an additional 47,108 shares during the period. Premier Fund Managers Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Vericel during the third quarter worth about $781,000. Finally, Atria Investments Inc boosted its stake in shares of Vericel by 21.6% during the third quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 7,768 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $328,000 after buying 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.