Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) Shares Gap Up on Strong Earnings

Key Points

• Shares jumped after an earnings beat: Vericel gapped up pre-market (closed $36.78, opened $40.50) after reporting Q results of EPS ($0.12) vs. ($0.15) expected and revenue of $68.43M, up 30.1% year-over-year.
• Analysts are increasingly bullish: Several firms raised ratings or targets (HC Wainwright to $64, Wall Street Zen to “buy”), leaving an average analyst target of $55.40 and an overall “Moderate Buy” consensus.
• Insider sale but strong institutional buying: Insider Jonathan M. Hopper sold 3,472 shares under a Rule 10b5‑1 plan, while institutions including William Blair, State Street and Goldman Sachs materially increased their stakes.

Vericel Corporation (NASDAQ:VCEL - Get Free Report)'s share price gapped up prior to trading on Thursday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $36.78, but opened at $40.50. Vericel shares last traded at $37.2280, with a volume of 131,597 shares.

The biotechnology company reported ($0.12) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.15) by $0.03. Vericel had a return on equity of 5.17% and a net margin of 5.98%.The business had revenue of $68.43 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $63.68 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned ($0.23) EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 30.1% on a year-over-year basis.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. HC Wainwright boosted their price target on Vericel from $60.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 27th. Leerink Partners restated an "outperform" rating and set a $46.00 price objective on shares of Vericel in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on Vericel from $48.00 to $42.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Vericel from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, March 28th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Vericel has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $55.40.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vericel

In other news, insider Jonathan Mark Hopper sold 3,472 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.00, for a total value of $121,520.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 75,556 shares in the company, valued at $2,644,460. This represents a 4.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 7.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Vericel

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of VCEL. William Blair Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Vericel by 90.3% in the third quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 2,210,929 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $69,578,000 after buying an additional 1,048,864 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Vericel by 12.7% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,163,922 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $113,933,000 after purchasing an additional 356,680 shares during the period. Aberdeen Group plc raised its position in shares of Vericel by 159.5% during the third quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 542,866 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $17,084,000 after purchasing an additional 333,649 shares during the period. GW&K Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Vericel by 22.5% during the fourth quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC now owns 1,580,967 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $56,931,000 after purchasing an additional 290,795 shares during the period. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Vericel by 133.6% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 497,167 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $17,903,000 after purchasing an additional 284,305 shares during the period.

Vericel Stock Down 1.2%

The business has a 50-day moving average price of $33.99 and a 200-day moving average price of $36.20. The company has a market capitalization of $1.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 118.10 and a beta of 1.15.

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.

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