Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) Receives Overweight Rating from Stephens

Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "overweight" rating reaffirmed by stock analysts at Stephens in a note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $67.00 price target on the biotechnology company's stock. Stephens' price objective would indicate a potential upside of 57.89% from the stock's current price.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Vericel from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th. HC Wainwright reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $60.00 target price on shares of Vericel in a report on Friday, February 28th. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on shares of Vericel from $61.00 to $51.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price objective on Vericel from $64.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $61.14.

Vericel Price Performance

NASDAQ:VCEL traded up $1.52 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $42.44. The company had a trading volume of 164,556 shares, compared to its average volume of 408,466. Vericel has a 1-year low of $37.39 and a 1-year high of $63.00. The business's 50 day moving average price is $41.96 and its 200-day moving average price is $50.94. The firm has a market cap of $2.14 billion, a PE ratio of 708.20 and a beta of 1.31.

Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.23) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.09) by ($0.14). The firm had revenue of $52.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $53.86 million. Vericel had a return on equity of 1.48% and a net margin of 1.56%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted ($0.08) earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Vericel will post 0.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vericel

In other news, CEO Dominick Colangelo sold 26,592 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.78, for a total value of $1,217,381.76. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 259,997 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,902,662.66. This trade represents a 9.28% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 5.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI acquired a new position in Vericel during the 4th quarter worth approximately $48,000. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. purchased a new position in Vericel in the fourth quarter worth $57,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Vericel by 511.1% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,265 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $70,000 after acquiring an additional 1,058 shares during the period. Meeder Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Vericel by 8.4% during the 4th quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,357 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $129,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Vericel by 34.8% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,895 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $129,000 after purchasing an additional 748 shares during the period.

Vericel Company Profile

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.