Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) Receives “Buy” Rating from Canaccord Genuity Group

Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reiterated by Canaccord Genuity Group in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $60.00 price target on the biotechnology company’s stock. Canaccord Genuity Group’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 7.47% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on VCEL. Stephens raised their target price on Vericel from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Vericel from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. StockNews.com raised Vericel from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $60.00 target price on shares of Vericel in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group began coverage on shares of Vericel in a research note on Friday, August 9th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $57.00 price target for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $58.14.

Vericel Stock Performance

Shares of VCEL traded up $2.94 on Tuesday, reaching $55.83. The stock had a trading volume of 346,323 shares, compared to its average volume of 430,787. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $45.10 and a 200-day simple moving average of $46.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 930.66 and a beta of 1.66. Vericel has a 12-month low of $32.31 and a 12-month high of $57.81.

Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.02) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.05) by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $57.91 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $55.32 million. Vericel had a return on equity of 1.48% and a net margin of 1.56%. On average, analysts expect that Vericel will post 0.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Vericel

In other news, CEO Dominick Colangelo sold 17,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.38, for a total transaction of $724,150.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 220,937 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,142,373.06. This represents a 7.34 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Steven C. Gilman sold 5,833 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.35, for a total value of $235,361.55. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $443,850. This represents a 34.65 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 29,166 shares of company stock worth $1,200,764 in the last 90 days. 7.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vericel

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in Vericel by 4,126.7% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 634 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 619 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC boosted its position in Vericel by 319.0% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 662 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 504 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its position in Vericel by 48.1% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,247 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 405 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Vericel by 22.2% in the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 1,773 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $77,000 after purchasing an additional 322 shares during the period. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Vericel in the 3rd quarter valued at $92,000.

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.