Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) Hits New 52-Week Low After Analyst Downgrade

Key Points

• Vericel Corporation's stock reached a new 52-week low of $33.73 during trading, signaling a decline in market performance.
• Analysts have recently adjusted their ratings on Vericel, with some lowering the price target to $51.00 while others maintain a buy rating with targets as high as $67.00.
• The company reported earnings of ($0.01) per share for the last quarter, surpassing expectations, but its revenue of $63.24 million fell short of the forecasted $64.61 million.

Vericel Corporation (NASDAQ:VCEL - Get Free Report) shares reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Friday after Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their price target on the stock from $61.00 to $58.00. Canaccord Genuity Group currently has a buy rating on the stock. Vericel traded as low as $33.73 and last traded at $34.13, with a volume of 67407 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $34.94.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Truist Financial cut their price objective on shares of Vericel from $61.00 to $51.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Vericel from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. Finally, Stephens reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $67.00 target price on shares of Vericel in a report on Monday, June 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $59.86.

Institutional Trading of Vericel

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in shares of Vericel by 1.3% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 303,854 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $12,929,000 after purchasing an additional 3,891 shares during the last quarter. Geneva Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Vericel by 30.7% during the second quarter. Geneva Capital Management LLC now owns 1,784,927 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $75,949,000 after purchasing an additional 419,183 shares during the last quarter. Scholtz & Company LLC lifted its position in shares of Vericel by 0.9% during the second quarter. Scholtz & Company LLC now owns 50,573 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $2,152,000 after purchasing an additional 454 shares during the last quarter. Atria Investments Inc lifted its position in shares of Vericel by 44.3% during the second quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 10,273 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $437,000 after purchasing an additional 3,154 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Peregrine Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Vericel during the second quarter worth $8,993,000.

Vericel Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $1.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 306.53 and a beta of 1.27. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $40.76 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $45.25.

Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The biotechnology company reported ($0.01) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.04) by $0.03. Vericel had a return on equity of 2.47% and a net margin of 2.85%. The firm had revenue of $63.24 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $64.61 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($0.10) earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 20.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Vericel Corporation will post 0.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Vericel

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.