Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) Earns Buy Rating from HC Wainwright

Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "buy" rating reaffirmed by analysts at HC Wainwright in a report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $60.00 target price on the biotechnology company's stock. HC Wainwright's target price would indicate a potential upside of 17.32% from the stock's previous close. HC Wainwright also issued estimates for Vericel's FY2025 earnings at $0.26 EPS, FY2027 earnings at $1.18 EPS, FY2028 earnings at $1.93 EPS and FY2029 earnings at $2.66 EPS.

VCEL has been the subject of a number of other reports. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price objective on Vericel from $64.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com upgraded Vericel from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 24th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Vericel from $61.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. BTIG Research increased their target price on shares of Vericel from $56.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $65.00 price target on shares of Vericel in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $62.29.

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Vericel Trading Up 3.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ VCEL traded up $1.63 on Friday, reaching $51.14. 456,307 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 415,429. The company has a 50 day moving average of $57.05 and a 200 day moving average of $51.90. Vericel has a fifty-two week low of $39.12 and a fifty-two week high of $63.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.52 billion, a PE ratio of 852.48 and a beta of 1.72.

Insider Activity

In other Vericel news, Director Robert L. Md Zerbe sold 2,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.50, for a total transaction of $156,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 26,595 shares in the company, valued at $1,662,187.50. This trade represents a 8.59 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Jonathan Siegal sold 3,908 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.99, for a total value of $242,256.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,206 shares in the company, valued at approximately $74,759.94. The trade was a 76.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 10,100 shares of company stock worth $618,872 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 5.20% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Vericel

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VCEL. Meeder Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Vericel by 8.4% in the 4th quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,357 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $129,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares in the last quarter. Atria Investments Inc increased its holdings in shares of Vericel by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 7,952 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $437,000 after acquiring an additional 184 shares during the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors raised its position in shares of Vericel by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 6,111 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $336,000 after acquiring an additional 199 shares in the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System boosted its holdings in Vericel by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 23,900 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $1,312,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Finally, Avantax Advisory Services Inc. increased its stake in Vericel by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 13,803 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $758,000 after purchasing an additional 234 shares during the last quarter.

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.