Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) Shares Gap Down to $49.52

Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL - Get Free Report) shares gapped down prior to trading on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $49.52, but opened at $46.00. Vericel shares last traded at $47.72, with a volume of 84,179 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on VCEL shares. Truist Financial reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $54.00 price objective on shares of Vericel in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. HC Wainwright boosted their target price on Vericel from $46.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 1st. Finally, TheStreet raised Vericel from a "d+" rating to a "c-" rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $46.40.

Vericel Stock Down 3.7 %

The company has a market cap of $2.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -529.89 and a beta of 1.74. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $47.24 and a 200 day simple moving average of $41.61.

Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 29th. The biotechnology company reported $0.26 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.18 by $0.08. Vericel had a negative return on equity of 1.55% and a negative net margin of 1.61%. The business had revenue of $65.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $64.28 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.12 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 23.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Vericel Co. will post 0.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Vericel

In related news, SVP Sean C. Flynn sold 8,115 shares of Vericel stock in a transaction on Friday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.33, for a total value of $367,852.95. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 167 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,570.11. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, SVP Sean C. Flynn sold 8,115 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.33, for a total transaction of $367,852.95. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 167 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,570.11. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Michael Halpin sold 7,874 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.71, for a total transaction of $352,046.54. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 949 shares of the company's stock, valued at $42,429.79. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 54,267 shares of company stock valued at $2,450,996 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 7.20% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Vericel

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of VCEL. MCF Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Vericel by 86.1% in the 1st quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 482 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 223 shares during the period. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI bought a new position in shares of Vericel during the first quarter valued at $27,000. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale bought a new position in Vericel during the 4th quarter worth $33,000. GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vericel in the fourth quarter worth approximately $65,000. Finally, RiverPark Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vericel during the first quarter worth $147,000.

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.