Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) Shares Down 7.1% - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• Shares fell 7.1% to about $33.28 on Tuesday with notably lighter trading volume (188,106 shares vs. a 572,647 average), marking a sharp intraday decline from a prior close of $35.81.
• Analysts maintain a consensus "Moderate Buy" rating with an average price target of $55.40, driven by recent upgrades and target changes ranging roughly from $42 to $64.
• Vericel's latest quarter matched EPS estimates at $0.45 and reported revenue of $92.92 million (up 23.3% year-over-year), though the stock still trades at a high P/E of about 109 on a $1.73 billion market cap.

Vericel Corporation (NASDAQ:VCEL - Get Free Report)'s stock price traded down 7.1% on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $33.65 and last traded at $33.28. 188,106 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 67% from the average session volume of 572,647 shares. The stock had previously closed at $35.81.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen raised Vericel from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, March 28th. Truist Financial cut their target price on Vericel from $48.00 to $42.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Leerink Partners reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $46.00 target price on shares of Vericel in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Vericel in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, HC Wainwright increased their price target on Vericel from $60.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 27th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $55.40.

Vericel Stock Down 5.4%

The company has a market capitalization of $1.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 108.87 and a beta of 1.20. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $34.24 and a 200-day simple moving average of $36.07.

Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 26th. The biotechnology company reported $0.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.45. The business had revenue of $92.92 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $92.66 million. Vericel had a return on equity of 5.17% and a net margin of 5.98%.Vericel's quarterly revenue was up 23.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.38 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Vericel Corporation will post 0.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Jonathan Mark Hopper sold 3,472 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.00, for a total transaction of $121,520.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 75,556 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,644,460. This trade represents a 4.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 7.60% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Huntington National Bank grew its holdings in shares of Vericel by 51.3% during the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 805 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 273 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System grew its stake in Vericel by 1.9% in the third quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 14,882 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $468,000 after purchasing an additional 277 shares in the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue grew its stake in Vericel by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 25,744 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $927,000 after purchasing an additional 353 shares in the last quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. grew its stake in Vericel by 13.7% in the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 2,937 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $125,000 after purchasing an additional 353 shares in the last quarter. Finally, California State Teachers Retirement System grew its stake in Vericel by 0.8% in the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 45,404 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $1,932,000 after purchasing an additional 382 shares in the last quarter.

About Vericel

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.