Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Buy" from Brokerages

Shares of Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL - Get Free Report) have received a consensus rating of "Buy" from the seven ratings firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $59.71.

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group reissued a "buy" rating and set a $60.00 price target on shares of Vericel in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. StockNews.com downgraded Vericel from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Thursday. Stephens upgraded Vericel to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. BTIG Research lifted their price objective on shares of Vericel from $56.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Vericel from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th.

Insider Activity at Vericel

In other Vericel news, Director Robert L. Md Zerbe sold 2,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.00, for a total transaction of $150,000.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 26,595 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,595,700. The trade was a 8.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Steven C. Gilman sold 5,833 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.35, for a total value of $235,361.55. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 11,000 shares in the company, valued at $443,850. This trade represents a 34.65 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 44,266 shares of company stock worth $2,090,636 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 5.20% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Vericel

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of VCEL. Intech Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vericel during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $563,000. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. raised its holdings in shares of Vericel by 4.6% in the third quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 1,079,048 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $45,590,000 after acquiring an additional 47,108 shares during the last quarter. Scholtz & Company LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vericel in the second quarter worth $1,357,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of Vericel by 214.0% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 587,857 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $24,837,000 after acquiring an additional 400,667 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Premier Fund Managers Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Vericel during the third quarter valued at $781,000.

Vericel Stock Up 0.8 %

VCEL traded up $0.46 on Friday, reaching $57.47. The company's stock had a trading volume of 326,531 shares, compared to its average volume of 426,312. The company has a market capitalization of $2.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 957.99 and a beta of 1.71. Vericel has a fifty-two week low of $32.31 and a fifty-two week high of $61.49. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $50.23 and a two-hundred day moving average of $47.94.

Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.02) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $57.91 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $55.32 million. As a group, analysts anticipate that Vericel will post 0.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.