Brokerages Set Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL) Price Target at $61.14

Shares of Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL - Get Free Report) have earned an average recommendation of "Buy" from the seven brokerages that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Six analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $61.14.

VCEL has been the subject of a number of research reports. Canaccord Genuity Group reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $60.00 price objective on shares of Vericel in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. HC Wainwright reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $60.00 price target on shares of Vericel in a report on Friday, November 8th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on Vericel from $61.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. BTIG Research lifted their target price on Vericel from $56.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Vericel from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 24th.

Vericel Price Performance

VCEL stock traded up $1.45 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $59.53. 497,877 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 381,694. Vericel has a twelve month low of $34.36 and a twelve month high of $61.49. The company has a market capitalization of $2.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 992.33 and a beta of 1.72. The company has a 50-day moving average of $55.40 and a two-hundred day moving average of $49.43.

Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.02) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.05) by $0.03. The company had revenue of $57.91 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $55.32 million. Vericel had a return on equity of 1.48% and a net margin of 1.56%. On average, analysts forecast that Vericel will post 0.13 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Vericel

In other news, Director Steven C. Gilman sold 5,833 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.36, for a total transaction of $241,252.88. Following the transaction, the director now owns 11,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $454,960. This represents a 34.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Dominick Colangelo sold 17,500 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 220,937 shares in the company, valued at $9,142,373.06. This trade represents a 7.34 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 38,433 shares of company stock worth $1,855,275 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 5.20% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of Vericel by 214.0% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 587,857 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $24,837,000 after purchasing an additional 400,667 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp increased its stake in Vericel by 40.0% during the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 28,073 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $1,186,000 after purchasing an additional 8,020 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Vericel by 0.8% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,154,053 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $48,768,000 after buying an additional 9,613 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Vericel in the third quarter valued at $563,000. Finally, BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. grew its holdings in shares of Vericel by 4.6% during the third quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 1,079,048 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $45,590,000 after buying an additional 47,108 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.