Stephens Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) Stock

Key Points

• Stephens raised its Vericel price target to $68 from $55 and maintained an “overweight” rating, implying 16.46% upside from the current share price.
• Analyst sentiment is broadly positive: five analysts rate the stock Buy and two Hold, for a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and average target of $62.
• Vericel beat quarterly estimates, reporting EPS of $0.27 versus $0.06 expected and revenue of $85.37 million versus $77.95 million; revenue grew 26.5% year over year.

Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL - Get Free Report) had its price objective increased by stock analysts at Stephens from $55.00 to $68.00 in a research report issued on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an "overweight" rating on the biotechnology company's stock. Stephens's price objective would indicate a potential upside of 16.46% from the company's current price.

Several other brokerages also recently issued reports on VCEL. Canaccord Genuity Group set a $60.00 price objective on Vericel in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Vericel from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Saturday. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Vericel in a research report on Thursday, October 29th. HC Wainwright lifted their target price on Vericel from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price target on Vericel from $52.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $62.00.

Vericel Stock Performance

Shares of VCEL opened at $58.39 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $41.36 and a 200-day moving average of $39.00. The company has a market cap of $2.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 91.24 and a beta of 1.08. Vericel has a 1 year low of $28.95 and a 1 year high of $59.48.

Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 5th. The biotechnology company reported $0.27 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.06 by $0.21. The business had revenue of $85.37 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $77.95 million. Vericel had a net margin of 7.91% and a return on equity of 6.91%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 26.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.10 EPS. Analysts predict that Vericel will post 0.54 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Vericel

In other news, insider Jonathan Siegal sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.90, for a total value of $79,350.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 1,259 shares in the company, valued at $66,601.10. This trade represents a 54.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Robert Zerbe sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.23, for a total transaction of $156,690.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 32,995 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,723,328.85. This trade represents a 8.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders sold 22,000 shares of company stock valued at $1,128,340. Company insiders own 7.60% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Vericel

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Vericel during the second quarter worth about $360,023,000. William Blair Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Vericel during the 2nd quarter valued at about $88,662,000. Aberdeen Group plc grew its stake in shares of Vericel by 204.7% in the 3rd quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 2,164,250 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $86,873,000 after purchasing an additional 1,454,012 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in shares of Vericel in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $45,210,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Vericel by 3.6% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 844,755 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $27,173,000 after purchasing an additional 29,135 shares during the last quarter.

About Vericel

Vericel Corporation is a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing cell therapies and other treatments for serious conditions. Based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, the company markets its products primarily in the United States.

Its products include MACI, an implant made from a patient's own cultured cartilage cells used to repair certain cartilage defects in the knee, and Epicel, a cultured skin graft used to treat patients with deep burns. Vericel also commercializes NexoBrid in the United States, an enzyme-based treatment for removing dead tissue from severe thermal burns.

The company traces its roots to Aastrom Biosciences and adopted the Vericel name in 2014.

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