Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) Shares Cross Above 200-Day Moving Average - Should You Sell?

Key Points

• Vericel shares moved above their 200-day moving average, reaching $40.40 and last trading at $40.15, while remaining below the 50-day average of $42.04.
• Analysts remain broadly positive, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $58.40; individual targets range from $58 to $70.
• The company exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $0.04 in earnings per share versus a projected loss of $0.03 and revenue of $77.46 million, up 22.5% year over year. An insider also sold 4,500 shares at an average price of $48.90.

Shares of Vericel Corporation (NASDAQ:VCEL - Get Free Report) passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Friday. The stock has a 200-day moving average of $39.08 and traded as high as $40.40. Vericel shares last traded at $40.15, with a volume of 479,211 shares.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on VCEL shares. Truist Financial reissued a "buy" rating and set a $58.00 target price (up from $54.00) on shares of Vericel in a report on Friday, July 31st. TD Cowen lifted their price target on Vericel from $55.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Canaccord Genuity Group set a $60.00 price target on Vericel in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Weiss Ratings raised Vericel from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Finally, HC Wainwright restated a "buy" rating and issued a $70.00 price objective on shares of Vericel in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Vericel has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $58.40.

Vericel Trading Up 1.8%

The company has a market cap of $2.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 85.43 and a beta of 1.02. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $42.04 and its 200 day simple moving average is $39.08.

Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The biotechnology company reported $0.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.03) by $0.07. The business had revenue of $77.46 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $72.70 million. Vericel had a net margin of 7.91% and a return on equity of 6.91%. The business's revenue was up 22.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted ($0.01) EPS. On average, analysts predict that Vericel Corporation will post 0.54 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Jonathan Siegal sold 4,500 shares of Vericel stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.90, for a total transaction of $220,050.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 1,078 shares in the company, valued at approximately $52,714.20. This trade represents a 80.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 7.60% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Vericel

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VCEL. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Vericel during the 2nd quarter valued at about $360,023,000. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in Vericel by 9.3% during the first quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,463,312 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $79,245,000 after purchasing an additional 208,750 shares during the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Vericel during the second quarter worth about $88,662,000. GW&K Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Vericel by 22.5% during the fourth quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC now owns 1,580,967 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $56,931,000 after purchasing an additional 290,795 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in Vericel by 19.7% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,098,771 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $35,347,000 after purchasing an additional 180,761 shares during the period.

About Vericel

Vericel Corporation is a commercial-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and marketing advanced cell therapies and specialty biologic products for the treatment of severe medical conditions. The company's products are designed to support tissue repair and regeneration, with an emphasis on orthopedic and burn-care applications.

Vericel's primary product is MACI, an autologous cellularized scaffold used to repair full-thickness cartilage defects in the knee. The therapy is made from a patient's own cartilage cells, which are expanded and seeded onto a collagen membrane before implantation.

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