Stephens Boosts Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) Price Target to $58.00

Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) had its price target boosted by research analysts at Stephens from $56.00 to $58.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “overweight” rating on the biotechnology company’s stock. Stephens’ price objective suggests a potential upside of 22.05% from the stock’s current price.

VCEL has been the topic of a number of other reports. Truist Financial upped their price target on Vericel from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. HC Wainwright raised their price target on shares of Vericel from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. StockNews.com raised shares of Vericel from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. TD Cowen assumed coverage on shares of Vericel in a research note on Thursday, June 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $55.00 price target on the stock. Finally, BTIG Research lowered their target price on shares of Vericel from $56.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $54.50.

Vericel Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VCEL remained flat at $47.52 during midday trading on Friday. The stock had a trading volume of 244,589 shares, compared to its average volume of 465,926. Vericel has a 12 month low of $30.18 and a 12 month high of $54.08. The company has a market cap of $2.31 billion, a PE ratio of -4,675.32 and a beta of 1.70. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $47.20 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $46.77.

Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The biotechnology company reported ($0.10) EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.10). Vericel had a return on equity of 0.21% and a net margin of 0.22%. The company had revenue of $52.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $52.59 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($0.11) EPS. Vericel’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Vericel will post 0.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Vericel

In other Vericel news, CEO Dominick Colangelo sold 17,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.12, for a total value of $772,100.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 220,752 shares in the company, valued at $9,739,578.24. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, insider Sean C. Flynn sold 6,772 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.02, for a total transaction of $304,875.44. Following the sale, the insider now owns 487 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,924.74. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Dominick Colangelo sold 17,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.12, for a total transaction of $772,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 220,752 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,739,578.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 63,791 shares of company stock valued at $3,101,269. 5.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vericel

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. MCF Advisors LLC raised its position in Vericel by 86.1% in the first quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 482 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 223 shares during the period. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI purchased a new position in shares of Vericel during the 1st quarter worth about $27,000. CWM LLC boosted its position in Vericel by 319.0% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 662 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 504 shares during the period. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale bought a new stake in shares of Vericel in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new stake in shares of Vericel in the 4th quarter valued at about $65,000.

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.