Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) Receives “Overweight” Rating from Stephens

Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL)‘s stock had its “overweight” rating reaffirmed by analysts at Stephens in a note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $65.00 target price on the biotechnology company’s stock. Stephens’ price target suggests a potential upside of 18.35% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on VCEL. Canaccord Genuity Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $60.00 price objective on shares of Vericel in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Truist Financial increased their price target on Vericel from $61.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $60.00 target price on shares of Vericel in a research note on Wednesday. StockNews.com raised shares of Vericel from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 24th. Finally, BTIG Research boosted their target price on shares of Vericel from $56.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Vericel currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $62.14.

Vericel Price Performance

VCEL traded down $3.75 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $54.92. 379,209 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 402,047. The company has a market capitalization of $2.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 915.49 and a beta of 1.72. Vericel has a 1 year low of $37.35 and a 1 year high of $61.49. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $56.61 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $49.84.

Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.02) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.05) by $0.03. The business had revenue of $57.91 million for 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, analysts anticipate that Vericel will post 0.13 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Paul K. Wotton sold 2,600 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the director now owns 27,402 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,609,045.44. This represents a 8.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Jonathan Mark Hopper sold 10,000 shares of Vericel stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.72, for a total transaction of $587,200.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 58,371 shares in the company, valued at $3,427,545.12. The trade was a 14.63 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 15,100 shares of company stock valued at $889,872. 5.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vericel

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

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.