Leerink Partnrs Increases Earnings Estimates for Vericel

Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL - Free Report) - Leerink Partnrs boosted their FY2024 earnings per share estimates for Vericel in a report released on Thursday, November 7th. Leerink Partnrs analyst M. Kratky now forecasts that the biotechnology company will post earnings per share of $0.15 for the year, up from their previous estimate of $0.12. The consensus estimate for Vericel's current full-year earnings is $0.13 per share. Leerink Partnrs also issued estimates for Vericel's Q4 2024 earnings at $0.33 EPS, Q2 2025 earnings at $0.01 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $0.37 EPS, FY2027 earnings at $1.35 EPS and FY2028 earnings at $1.81 EPS.

Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.02) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.05) by $0.03. Vericel had a return on equity of 1.48% and a net margin of 1.56%. The firm had revenue of $57.91 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $55.32 million.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on VCEL. Stephens raised their price objective on Vericel from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. StockNews.com raised Vericel from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday. Truist Financial raised their target price on Vericel from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $60.00 target price on shares of Vericel in a research note on Friday. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group started coverage on Vericel in a research note on Friday, August 9th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $57.00 price objective for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $57.71.

Vericel Stock Performance

Shares of VCEL traded up $2.78 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $56.78. 596,221 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 430,598. Vericel has a 52 week low of $32.31 and a 52 week high of $57.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.78 billion, a PE ratio of 946.49 and a beta of 1.66. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $44.27 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $46.41.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vericel

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised 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 valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 619 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC raised its position in shares of Vericel by 319.0% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 662 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 504 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Vericel by 48.1% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,247 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 405 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its position 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 worth $77,000 after acquiring an additional 322 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Vericel in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $92,000.

Insider Activity at Vericel

In related news, CEO Dominick Colangelo sold 17,500 shares of the business'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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 220,937 shares in the company, valued at $9,142,373.06. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Dominick Colangelo sold 17,500 shares of the business'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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 220,937 shares in the company, valued at $9,142,373.06. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Steven C. Gilman sold 5,833 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.36, for a total value of $241,252.88. Following the transaction, the director now owns 11,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $454,960. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 29,166 shares of company stock worth $1,200,764. 5.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.