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

Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL - Get Free Report) has received an average rating of "Buy" from the seven research firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $63.14.

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on VCEL shares. BTIG Research boosted 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. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their target price on shares of Vericel from $64.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Vericel from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 24th. Truist Financial increased their target price on Vericel from $61.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, HC Wainwright restated a "buy" rating and issued a $60.00 target price on shares of Vericel in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th.

Vericel Trading Up 4.0 %

Shares of VCEL traded up $2.37 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $61.80. 543,422 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 427,001. The business's 50 day moving average is $57.72 and its two-hundred day moving average is $50.98. Vericel has a fifty-two week low of $39.12 and a fifty-two week high of $63.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 1,030.17 and a beta of 1.72.

Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.02) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.05) by $0.03. Vericel had a return on equity of 1.48% and a net margin of 1.56%. The business had revenue of $57.91 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $55.32 million. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Vericel will post 0.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Paul K. Wotton sold 2,600 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.72, for a total transaction of $152,672.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 27,402 shares in the company, valued at $1,609,045.44. The trade was a 8.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jonathan Mark Hopper sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.72, for a total transaction of $587,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 58,371 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,427,545.12. This trade represents a 14.63 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 19,008 shares of company stock valued at $1,132,129 in the last three months. 5.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in VCEL. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Vericel by 511.1% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,265 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $70,000 after buying an additional 1,058 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Vericel by 16.3% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 170,500 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $9,362,000 after acquiring an additional 23,937 shares during the period. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Vericel by 13.6% in the 4th quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 150,141 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $8,244,000 after purchasing an additional 17,922 shares during the period. GW&K Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Vericel by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC now owns 1,273,964 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $69,953,000 after acquiring an additional 30,180 shares during the period. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in Vericel during the fourth quarter valued at about $956,000.

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.