Vericel Corporation (NASDAQ:VCEL) Receives Average Rating of "Hold" from Analysts

Key Points

• Vericel has a consensus analyst rating of “Hold” from seven brokerages, with an average 1-year price target of $52.50. Analyst opinions are mixed, including one sell, two hold, and four buy ratings.
• Recent insider activity showed notable share sales, including transactions by Jonathan Mark Hopper and Jonathan Siegal, with insiders selling 47,732 shares worth about $2.08 million over the last three months.
• The company reported better-than-expected quarterly results, posting EPS of ($0.12) versus an expected loss of ($0.15) and revenue of $68.43 million, up 30.1% year over year. Despite the earnings beat, the stock was down 2.7% to $47.00 in recent trading.

Vericel Corporation (NASDAQ:VCEL - Get Free Report) has received a consensus recommendation of "Hold" from the seven brokerages that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have issued a hold recommendation and four have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $52.50.

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Vericel from a "sell (d)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 16th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Vericel from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, June 14th. Truist Financial decreased their target price on shares of Vericel from $48.00 to $42.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, HC Wainwright reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $64.00 price target on shares of Vericel in a research note on Friday, May 8th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Jonathan Mark Hopper sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.00, for a total transaction of $450,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 75,753 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,408,885. This represents a 11.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jonathan Siegal sold 2,732 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.90, for a total value of $122,666.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 886 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $39,781.40. This represents a 75.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 47,732 shares of company stock worth $2,084,167 in the last three months. Insiders own 7.60% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vericel

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Kestra Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Vericel in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Quarry LP bought a new stake in Vericel during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its position in Vericel by 116.5% during the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 970 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 522 shares in the last quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC lifted its stake in Vericel by 175.4% in the fourth quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 1,534 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $55,000 after acquiring an additional 977 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new stake in Vericel in the fourth quarter valued at $58,000.

Vericel Stock Down 2.7%

Shares of NASDAQ:VCEL traded down $1.31 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $47.00. 451,851 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 673,907. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $38.41 and its 200-day simple moving average is $36.49. Vericel has a one year low of $28.95 and a one year high of $48.33. The company has a market cap of $2.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 111.91 and a beta of 1.07.

Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.12) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.15) by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $68.43 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $63.68 million. Vericel had a return on equity of 6.41% and a net margin of 7.35%.The business's quarterly revenue was up 30.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted ($0.23) EPS. Analysts anticipate that Vericel will post 0.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vericel Company Profile

Vericel Corporation is a biotechnology company specializing in the development, manufacturing and commercialization of cell-based therapies for patients with severe diseases and conditions. The company's expertise lies in regenerative medicine, where it harnesses the power of autologous cell processing to create products designed to restore function and promote healing in damaged tissues.

Vericel currently markets two FDA-approved therapies. MACI® (autologous cultured chondrocytes on porcine collagen membrane) is indicated for the repair of symptomatic cartilage defects of the knee in adult patients.

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