Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) Upgraded by Wall Street Zen to Buy Rating

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded Vericel from “hold” to “buy,” adding to a broader wave of positive analyst sentiment around the biotech company.
• Other firms have also turned more constructive: Truist raised its price target to $54, while HC Wainwright kept a $64 target. Overall, Vericel now has a consensus rating of Hold with an average price target of $55.50.
• Vericel recently reported better-than-expected quarterly results, including EPS of -$0.12 versus estimates of -$0.15 and revenue of $68.43 million, up 30.1% year over year. The stock was trading down 2.4% on Friday despite sitting near its 52-week high.

Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL - Get Free Report) was upgraded by research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report issued on Saturday.

Several other analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Vericel from $42.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Vericel from a "sell (d)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 16th. Finally, HC Wainwright reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $64.00 target price on shares of Vericel in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $55.50.

Vericel Trading Down 2.4%

Shares of NASDAQ VCEL opened at $46.64 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $39.57 and a 200-day moving average of $36.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 111.05 and a beta of 1.07. Vericel has a 12 month low of $28.95 and a 12 month high of $48.75.

Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. 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 net margin of 7.35% and a return on equity of 6.41%. The business had revenue of $68.43 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $63.68 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted ($0.23) earnings per share. Vericel's quarterly revenue was up 30.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Vericel will post 0.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Vericel

In other Vericel news, insider Jonathan Siegal sold 2,732 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.90, for a total value of $122,666.80. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 886 shares of the company's stock, valued at $39,781.40. This represents a 75.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Joseph Anthony Mara, Jr. sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.75, for a total transaction of $223,750.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 16,009 shares in the company, valued at $716,402.75. The trade was a 23.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 47,732 shares of company stock worth $2,084,167 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 7.60% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vericel

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. AQR Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Vericel during the first quarter valued at about $242,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Vericel by 6.2% in 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 buying an additional 1,847 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Vericel by 13.6% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 371,486 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $16,576,000 after buying an additional 44,333 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its holdings in shares of Vericel by 9.0% in 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 buying an additional 10,191 shares during the period. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Vericel by 5.1% in the 2nd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 277,253 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $11,797,000 after acquiring an additional 13,422 shares during the last quarter.

Vericel Company Profile

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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