Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) Posts Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.03 EPS

Key Points

• Vericel reported quarterly earnings of ($0.01) EPS, exceeding analysts' expectations of ($0.04) EPS by $0.03, while year-over-year revenue increased by 20.1% to $63.24 million.
• Despite the earnings beat, Vericel's revenue fell short of analysts' expectations which were set at $64.61 million.
• Analysts have mixed ratings on Vericel, with one downgrade to "sell," while seven analysts maintain a "buy" rating, reflecting a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with a target price of $59.86.

Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL - Get Free Report) issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday. The biotechnology company reported ($0.01) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.04) by $0.03, Briefing.com reports. The firm had revenue of $63.24 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $64.61 million. Vericel had a return on equity of 2.47% and a net margin of 2.85%. The business's revenue was up 20.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($0.10) earnings per share.

Vericel Trading Down 1.4%

Shares of VCEL traded down $0.53 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $36.29. The company's stock had a trading volume of 569,583 shares, compared to its average volume of 500,085. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $40.66 and a 200 day simple moving average of $45.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 302.44 and a beta of 1.27. Vericel has a 1-year low of $33.09 and a 1-year high of $63.00.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VCEL has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Stephens reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $67.00 price target on shares of Vericel in a research note on Monday, June 16th. Truist Financial reduced their price target on Vericel from $61.00 to $51.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Vericel from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their price target on Vericel from $61.00 to $58.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $59.86.

Institutional Trading of Vericel

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. AQR Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Vericel during the first quarter worth $242,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its holdings in Vericel by 6.2% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 31,445 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $1,403,000 after purchasing an additional 1,847 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its holdings in Vericel by 9.0% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 123,028 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $5,490,000 after purchasing an additional 10,191 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in Vericel by 13.6% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 371,486 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $16,576,000 after purchasing an additional 44,333 shares during the last quarter.

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.