Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL) Given Average Rating of "Buy" by Analysts

Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL - Get Free Report) has earned an average recommendation of "Buy" from the seven ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $57.71.

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on VCEL shares. StockNews.com downgraded Vericel from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Stephens upped their price objective on shares of Vericel from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Vericel from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. Canaccord Genuity Group assumed coverage on shares of Vericel in a research note on Friday, August 9th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $57.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Vericel from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th.

Vericel Trading Up 2.1 %

Shares of VCEL traded up $0.88 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $43.75. The stock had a trading volume of 723,693 shares, compared to its average volume of 429,385. Vericel has a fifty-two week low of $32.28 and a fifty-two week high of $54.10. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $45.03 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $46.51. The firm has a market cap of $2.13 billion, a P/E ratio of -4,287.00 and a beta of 1.67.

Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The biotechnology company reported ($0.10) earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of ($0.10). The firm had revenue of $52.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $52.59 million. Vericel had a net margin of 0.37% and a return on equity of 0.35%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 14.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($0.11) EPS. On average, analysts expect that Vericel will post 0.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Dominick Colangelo sold 17,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.38, for a total value of $724,150.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 220,937 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,142,373.06. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Vericel news, CEO Dominick Colangelo sold 17,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 16th. The shares were 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 directly owns 220,937 shares in the company, valued at $9,142,373.06. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 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 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 29,166 shares of company stock valued at $1,200,764 over the last three months. 5.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Vericel

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Vericel by 1.2% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,413,442 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $177,567,000 after buying an additional 39,349 shares during the period. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. lifted its position in shares of Vericel by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 1,031,940 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $47,346,000 after acquiring an additional 10,245 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Vericel by 7.9% during the 2nd quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 908,141 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $41,666,000 after purchasing an additional 66,464 shares in the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. increased its position in shares of Vericel by 34.9% during the second quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 840,787 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $38,575,000 after purchasing an additional 217,437 shares during the period. Finally, Geneva Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Vericel by 43.6% in the first quarter. Geneva Capital Management LLC now owns 679,165 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $35,330,000 after purchasing an additional 206,202 shares in 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.