Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) Sets New 12-Month High – Here’s What Happened

Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL)’s share price hit a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $63.00 and last traded at $60.98, with a volume of 145549 shares. The stock had previously closed at $59.43.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VCEL has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and set a $60.00 price target on shares of Vericel in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Truist Financial lifted their target price on Vericel from $61.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. BTIG Research upped their price target on Vericel from $56.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price objective on shares of Vericel from $64.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $65.00 target price on shares of Vericel in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Vericel has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $63.14.

Vericel Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $2.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 995.17 and a beta of 1.72. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $57.80 and its two-hundred day moving average is $51.05.

Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.02) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.05) by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $57.91 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $55.32 million. Vericel had a net margin of 1.56% and a return on equity of 1.48%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Vericel Co. will post 0.14 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Jonathan Mark Hopper sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.72, for a total value of $587,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 58,371 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,427,545.12. This trade represents a 14.63 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Jonathan Siegal sold 3,908 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.99, for a total transaction of $242,256.92. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 1,206 shares in the company, valued at $74,759.94. The trade was a 76.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 19,008 shares of company stock worth $1,132,129. Corporate insiders own 7.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Vericel

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Global Alpha Capital Management Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Vericel by 5.7% during the fourth quarter. Global Alpha Capital Management Ltd. now owns 24,720 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,357,000 after purchasing an additional 1,337 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Vericel in the 4th quarter worth about $28,126,000. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its holdings in Vericel by 6.7% during the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 14,192 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $779,000 after buying an additional 897 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Vericel in the 4th quarter valued at about $956,000. Finally, Atria Investments Inc grew its stake in Vericel by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 7,952 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $437,000 after acquiring an additional 184 shares in the last quarter.

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.