Stephens Reiterates Overweight Rating for Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL)

Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "overweight" rating reaffirmed by research analysts at Stephens in a research note issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $65.00 price objective on the biotechnology company's stock. Stephens' price target points to a potential upside of 12.95% from the company's previous close.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. HC Wainwright restated a "buy" rating and set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Vericel in a research report on Wednesday. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Vericel from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 24th. BTIG Research increased their price target on shares of Vericel from $56.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of Vericel from $61.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $60.00 price target on shares of Vericel in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $62.14.

Vericel Price Performance

Vericel stock traded down $1.12 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $57.55. 1,181,998 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 509,400. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 959.33 and a beta of 1.72. The business has a 50 day moving average of $56.61 and a two-hundred day moving average of $49.84. Vericel has a 12 month low of $37.35 and a 12 month high of $61.49.

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 for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.05) by $0.03. The company had revenue of $57.91 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $55.32 million. Vericel had a net margin of 1.56% and a return on equity of 1.48%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Vericel will post 0.13 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Robert L. Md Zerbe sold 2,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were 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 $1,595,700. This trade represents a 8.59 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Jonathan Mark Hopper sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.72, for a total transaction of $587,200.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 58,371 shares in the company, valued at $3,427,545.12. The trade was a 14.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 15,100 shares of company stock worth $889,872 in the last three months. Company insiders own 5.20% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vericel

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of VCEL. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Vericel by 4,126.7% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 634 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 619 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its stake in Vericel by 48.1% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,247 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 405 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its stake 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 buying an additional 322 shares in the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Vericel in the 3rd quarter worth $92,000. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new position in shares of Vericel in the 3rd quarter worth $146,000.

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.