Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) Stock Rating Lowered by StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report sent to investors on Friday.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Canaccord Genuity Group assumed coverage on Vericel in a report on Friday, August 9th. They set a buy rating and a $57.00 price target for the company. Truist Financial increased their price objective on Vericel from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Vericel from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. HC Wainwright upped their target price on shares of Vericel from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Stephens increased their price objective on shares of Vericel from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Vericel presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $55.75.

Vericel Trading Down 0.4 %

VCEL stock opened at $46.37 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $2.25 billion, a P/E ratio of -4,637.00 and a beta of 1.67. Vericel has a 1-year low of $30.18 and a 1-year high of $54.10. The business’s 50 day moving average is $48.22 and its 200-day moving average is $47.44.

Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The biotechnology company reported ($0.10) earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of ($0.10). The business had revenue of $52.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $52.59 million. Vericel had a net margin of 0.37% and a return on equity of 0.35%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 14.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.11) EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Vericel will post 0.12 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Dominick Colangelo sold 17,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.40, for a total value of $899,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 220,937 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,356,161.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Vericel news, CEO Dominick Colangelo sold 17,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.40, for a total transaction of $899,500.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 220,937 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,356,161.80. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Joseph Anthony Mara, Jr. sold 5,000 shares of Vericel stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total transaction of $250,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 14,436 shares in the company, valued at approximately $721,800. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 38,045 shares of company stock worth $1,956,725. Company insiders own 5.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Vericel

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of VCEL. MCF Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Vericel by 86.1% during the first quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 482 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 223 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC grew its stake in shares of Vericel by 319.0% during the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 662 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 504 shares in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Vericel by 9.7% in the second quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,484 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $114,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares during the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Vericel by 178.7% during the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 2,584 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $134,000 after purchasing an additional 1,657 shares during the last quarter. Finally, RiverPark Advisors LLC bought a new position in Vericel in the first quarter valued at $147,000.

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.