Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) Upgraded to Hold at StockNews.com

Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) was upgraded by investment analysts at StockNews.com from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued on Monday.

VCEL has been the topic of a number of other reports. HC Wainwright increased their price target on shares of Vericel from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Canaccord Genuity Group began coverage on shares of Vericel in a research note on Friday, August 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $57.00 target price on the stock. TD Cowen lifted their price target on Vericel from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. Truist Financial upped their price target on Vericel from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. Finally, BTIG Research dropped their price objective on Vericel from $56.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $55.75.

Vericel Stock Performance

NASDAQ VCEL opened at $40.05 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.95 billion, a P/E ratio of -4,005.00 and a beta of 1.67. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $47.19 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $47.38. Vericel has a fifty-two week low of $30.18 and a fifty-two week high of $54.10.

Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The biotechnology company reported ($0.10) earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of ($0.10). Vericel had a return on equity of 0.35% and a net margin of 0.37%. The company had revenue of $52.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $52.59 million. During the same period last year, the business earned ($0.11) earnings per share. Vericel’s quarterly revenue was up 14.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Vericel will post 0.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vericel

In related news, CFO Joseph Anthony Mara, Jr. sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total transaction of $250,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 14,436 shares in the company, valued at $721,800. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Vericel news, CEO Dominick Colangelo sold 17,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.40, for a total value of $899,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 220,937 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,356,161.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Joseph Anthony Mara, Jr. sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total value of $250,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 14,436 shares in the company, valued at $721,800. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 38,045 shares of company stock valued at $1,956,725 over the last quarter. 5.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vericel

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Vericel by 9.7% in the 2nd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,484 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $114,000 after acquiring an additional 220 shares during the last quarter. MCF Advisors LLC raised its stake in Vericel by 86.1% during the first quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 482 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 223 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank raised its stake in Vericel by 0.4% during the first quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 89,500 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $4,656,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the period. PFG Investments LLC raised its stake in Vericel by 6.2% during the second quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 6,850 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $314,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the period. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System boosted its holdings in Vericel by 3.3% in the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 12,866 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $590,000 after purchasing an additional 406 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.