Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) Rating Lowered to Sell at StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note issued to investors on Friday morning.

Several other equities research analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Stephens increased their target price on shares of Vericel from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Friday. HC Wainwright lifted their target price on Vericel from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Friday. BTIG Research decreased their target price on Vericel from $56.00 to $55.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 15th. TD Cowen initiated coverage on Vericel in a research report on Thursday, June 20th. They set a buy rating and a $55.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Truist Financial increased their target price on Vericel from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Vericel has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $54.50.

Vericel Stock Down 3.7 %

NASDAQ:VCEL opened at $45.86 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $47.19 and its 200-day simple moving average is $46.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.23 billion, a P/E ratio of -4,586.00 and a beta of 1.70. Vericel has a 12-month low of $30.18 and a 12-month high of $54.08.

Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The biotechnology company reported ($0.10) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of ($0.10). The company had revenue of $52.70 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $52.59 million. Vericel had a return on equity of 0.35% and a net margin of 0.37%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned ($0.11) EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Vericel will post 0.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Vericel

In other news, insider Sean C. Flynn sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.18, for a total transaction of $782,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 707 shares in the company, valued at approximately $36,891.26. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, insider Sean C. Flynn sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.18, for a total transaction of $782,700.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 707 shares in the company, valued at $36,891.26. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Sean C. Flynn sold 6,772 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.02, for a total value of $304,875.44. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 487 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,924.74. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 63,791 shares of company stock valued at $3,101,269. Corporate insiders own 5.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vericel

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VCEL. Congress Asset Management Co. MA grew its position in shares of Vericel by 509.1% in the 1st quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. MA now owns 836,481 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $43,514,000 after acquiring an additional 699,147 shares during the period. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Vericel in the 1st quarter valued at about $12,782,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Vericel by 51.5% during the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 611,146 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $28,039,000 after purchasing an additional 207,714 shares during the period. Geneva Capital Management LLC increased its position in Vericel by 43.6% during the first quarter. Geneva Capital Management LLC now owns 679,165 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $35,330,000 after buying an additional 206,202 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Vericel by 61.2% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 410,488 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $21,354,000 after buying an additional 155,871 shares during the period.

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.