Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) Reaches New 12-Month High on Analyst Upgrade

Key Points

• Vericel reached a 52-week high of $59.75 after Zacks Research upgraded the stock from Hold to Strong Buy.
• Analyst sentiment is broadly positive: Vericel has a consensus Buy rating and a $62 price target, with recent targets ranging from $58 to $75.
• The company beat quarterly estimates, reporting EPS of $0.27 versus $0.06 expected and revenue of $85.37 million, up 26.5% year over year. Insiders have also sold 22,000 shares over the past three months.

Vericel Corporation (NASDAQ:VCEL - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday after Zacks Research upgraded the stock from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating. The stock traded as high as $59.75 and last traded at $58.6010, with a volume of 55,467 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $59.03.

VCEL has been the subject of a number of other reports. Stephens upped their target price on Vericel from $55.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday. TD Cowen lifted their price target on Vericel from $55.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. HC Wainwright boosted their price objective on Vericel from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, November 6th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on Vericel from $52.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Vericel in a research report on Thursday, October 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Vericel presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $62.00.

Insider Activity

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

Key Headlines Impacting Vericel

Investors following VCEL have been watching these headlines:

• Positive Sentiment: Stephens raised its price target from $55 to $68 and maintained an “overweight” rating, while HC Wainwright kept a “buy” rating and a $75 target. HC Wainwright also raised its 2026 and 2027 EPS forecasts, including increasing its FY2027 estimate to $0.89 from $0.68. Vericel analyst information
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks said upward revisions to earnings estimates could support further near-term gains, adding to the bullish analyst signals. Zacks earnings estimate article
• Neutral Sentiment: Vericel published a presentation of its third-quarter 2026 results; the entry provided no additional details on the results. Vericel Q3 2026 earnings presentation

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of VCEL. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Vericel during the second quarter worth approximately $360,023,000. Aberdeen Group plc grew its position in Vericel by 204.7% in the 3rd quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 2,164,250 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $86,873,000 after buying an additional 1,454,012 shares during the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Vericel in the 2nd quarter valued at $88,662,000. Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in Vericel by 19.7% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,098,771 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $35,347,000 after buying an additional 180,761 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Vericel by 3.6% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 844,755 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $27,173,000 after buying an additional 29,135 shares during the period.

Vericel Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $2.98 billion, a PE ratio of 91.40 and a beta of 1.08. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $41.74 and its 200 day simple moving average is $39.10.

Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 5th. The biotechnology company reported $0.27 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.06 by $0.21. Vericel had a net margin of 10.27% and a return on equity of 9.09%. The business had revenue of $85.37 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $77.95 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.10 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 26.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Vericel Corporation will post 0.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.

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