StockNews.com Upgrades Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) to “Hold”

Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) was upgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $60.00 target price on shares of Vericel in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Vericel from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. Stephens upgraded Vericel to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. BTIG Research increased their price target on Vericel from $56.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Vericel from $61.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $61.14.

Vericel Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VCEL opened at $57.31 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $2.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 955.33 and a beta of 1.70. Vericel has a fifty-two week low of $32.31 and a fifty-two week high of $61.49. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $52.35 and its 200 day simple moving average is $48.44.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Paul K. Wotton sold 2,600 shares of Vericel stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.72, for a total value of $152,672.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 27,402 shares in the company, valued at $1,609,045.44. This trade represents a 8.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Jonathan Mark Hopper sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.72, for a total transaction of $587,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 58,371 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,427,545.12. This trade represents a 14.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 44,266 shares of company stock valued at $2,090,636 over the last ninety days. 5.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Vericel

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of VCEL. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Vericel by 4,126.7% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 634 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 619 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Vericel by 48.1% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,247 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 405 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its stake in Vericel by 22.2% in the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 1,773 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $77,000 after purchasing an additional 322 shares in the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in Vericel during the third quarter valued at approximately $92,000. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new position in shares of Vericel in the 3rd quarter worth $146,000.

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.