Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) Reaches New 52-Week High – Here’s Why

Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL) reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $61.65 and last traded at $61.69, with a volume of 63215 shares. The stock had previously closed at $59.72.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Canaccord Genuity Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $60.00 price target on shares of Vericel in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. StockNews.com raised Vericel from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 24th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on Vericel from $61.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $60.00 price objective on shares of Vericel in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $65.00 target price on shares of Vericel in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $62.14.

Vericel Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $2.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 995.37 and a beta of 1.72. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $57.62 and its two-hundred day moving average is $50.69.

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, equities research analysts expect that Vericel Co. will post 0.12 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Paul K. Wotton sold 2,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.72, for a total value of $152,672.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 27,402 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,609,045.44. The trade was a 8.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, 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 have sold 15,100 shares of company stock valued at $889,872 in the last three months. 5.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vericel

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Geneva Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Vericel by 61.4% in the third quarter. Geneva Capital Management LLC now owns 1,104,386 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $46,660,000 after buying an additional 420,078 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in shares of Vericel by 214.0% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 587,857 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $24,837,000 after purchasing an additional 400,667 shares in the last quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. raised its position in shares of Vericel by 37.4% in the third quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 1,291,720 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $54,575,000 after buying an additional 351,550 shares in the last quarter. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Vericel by 54.8% during the third quarter. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC now owns 590,145 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $24,934,000 after purchasing an additional 209,009 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. purchased a new position in Vericel in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $4,973,000.

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.