Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) Shares Gap Down - Here's What Happened

Key Points

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Vericel Corporation (NASDAQ:VCEL - Get Free Report) gapped down prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $40.66, but opened at $36.98. Vericel shares last traded at $37.74, with a volume of 306,297 shares traded.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded Vericel from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. Truist Financial dropped their target price on Vericel from $61.00 to $51.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Stephens reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $67.00 target price on shares of Vericel in a research report on Monday, June 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $61.14.

Vericel Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $1.89 billion, a PE ratio of 1,247.95 and a beta of 1.32. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $41.06 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $45.89.

Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The biotechnology company reported ($0.01) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.04) by $0.03. Vericel had a return on equity of 1.09% and a net margin of 1.25%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($0.10) EPS. The company's revenue was up 20.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Vericel Corporation will post 0.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in VCEL. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in Vericel by 119.3% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,288,921 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $70,775,000 after acquiring an additional 701,064 shares during the last quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vericel in the 4th quarter worth $34,233,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Vericel by 244.6% in the 2nd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 859,486 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $35,755,000 after buying an additional 610,045 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Vericel during the 4th quarter worth $28,126,000. Finally, Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Vericel by 19.5% during the 2nd quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,463,590 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $104,826,000 after purchasing an additional 401,990 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.

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