Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) Stock Rating Lowered by StockNews.com

Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL - Get Free Report) was downgraded by StockNews.com from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a note issued to investors on Monday.

Several other research firms also recently weighed in on VCEL. HC Wainwright reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $60.00 target price on shares of Vericel in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Stephens reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $65.00 target price on shares of Vericel in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Truist Financial dropped their target price on shares of Vericel from $61.00 to $51.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their target price on shares of Vericel from $64.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Vericel currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $60.86.

Vericel Price Performance

Vericel stock traded up $0.99 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $42.48. 528,149 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 407,844. Vericel has a 1 year low of $37.39 and a 1 year high of $63.00. The firm has a market cap of $2.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 708.12 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $42.51 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $51.09.

Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.23) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.09) by ($0.14). The company had revenue of $52.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $53.86 million. Vericel had a return on equity of 1.48% and a net margin of 1.56%. Vericel's revenue for the quarter was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.08) EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Vericel will post 0.14 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Vericel news, CEO Dominick Colangelo sold 24,850 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.89, for a total transaction of $1,040,966.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 260,354 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,906,229.06. The trade was a 8.71% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 5.20% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System boosted its stake in Vericel by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 23,900 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $1,312,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC acquired a new position in Vericel during the 4th quarter valued at about $280,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in Vericel during the 4th quarter valued at about $956,000. Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new position in Vericel during the 4th quarter valued at about $261,000. Finally, KBC Group NV lifted its stake in shares of Vericel by 82.5% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,707 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $149,000 after acquiring an additional 1,224 shares during the period.

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.