Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) Given “Overweight” Rating at Stephens

Stephens restated their overweight rating on shares of Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) in a research note released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a $65.00 target price on the biotechnology company’s stock.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Vericel from $61.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. BTIG Research upped their target price on Vericel from $56.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. StockNews.com raised shares of Vericel from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 24th. Canaccord Genuity Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Vericel in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and issued a $60.00 target price on shares of Vericel in a research note on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $62.14.

Vericel Stock Performance

VCEL stock opened at $57.55 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $56.61 and a 200-day simple moving average of $49.84. The firm has a market cap of $2.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 959.33 and a beta of 1.72. Vericel has a 1 year low of $37.35 and a 1 year high of $61.49.

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

Insider Activity at Vericel

In related news, Director Robert L. Md Zerbe sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the director now owns 26,595 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,595,700. The trade was a 8.59 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Paul K. Wotton sold 2,600 shares of Vericel stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.72, for a total transaction of $152,672.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 27,402 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,609,045.44. The trade was a 8.67 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 15,100 shares of company stock valued at $889,872. Company insiders own 7.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Vericel

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. FMR LLC boosted its stake in Vericel by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,372,812 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $100,251,000 after purchasing an additional 22,461 shares during the period. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in Vericel by 1.7% during the third quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,075,730 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $87,700,000 after buying an additional 34,360 shares in the last quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. raised its holdings in Vericel by 37.4% in the 3rd quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 1,291,720 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $54,575,000 after acquiring an additional 351,550 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Vericel by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,154,053 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $48,768,000 after purchasing an additional 9,613 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geneva Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Vericel by 61.4% in the third quarter. Geneva Capital Management LLC now owns 1,104,386 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $46,660,000 after purchasing an additional 420,078 shares in the last quarter.

Vericel Company Profile

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.