Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Buy” by Brokerages

Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Buy” by the seven analysts that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $48.17.

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Vericel from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, June 21st. HC Wainwright boosted their price objective on Vericel from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 9th. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $54.00 price objective on shares of Vericel in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Finally, TD Cowen initiated coverage on Vericel in a research note on Thursday, June 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $55.00 price objective for the company.

Vericel Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VCEL opened at $45.88 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4,583.42 and a beta of 1.74. Vericel has a 12 month low of $30.18 and a 12 month high of $53.05. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $46.58 and its 200-day simple moving average is $44.49.

Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 8th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.08) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.11) by $0.03. The business had revenue of $51.28 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $49.07 million. Vericel had a return on equity of 0.21% and a net margin of 0.22%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 25.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.16) EPS. Analysts anticipate that Vericel will post 0.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Sean C. Flynn sold 1,474 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.84, for a total transaction of $67,568.16. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 487 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,324.08. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, insider Sean C. Flynn sold 6,772 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.02, for a total transaction of $304,875.44. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 487 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,924.74. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Sean C. Flynn sold 1,474 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.84, for a total value of $67,568.16. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 487 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,324.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 43,246 shares of company stock valued at $1,924,869. Company insiders own 5.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Vericel

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Vericel by 98.5% in the fourth quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC now owns 226,015 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $8,048,000 after purchasing an additional 112,169 shares during the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. grew its holdings in Vericel by 21.2% in the fourth quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 560,419 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $19,957,000 after purchasing an additional 97,952 shares during the last quarter. Geneva Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Vericel by 8.7% in the fourth quarter. Geneva Capital Management LLC now owns 472,963 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $16,842,000 after purchasing an additional 37,784 shares during the last quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. MA grew its holdings in Vericel by 509.1% in the first quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. MA now owns 836,481 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $43,514,000 after purchasing an additional 699,147 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in Vericel by 54.4% in the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 126,383 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $4,236,000 after purchasing an additional 44,507 shares during the last quarter.

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.