Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) Shares Gap Down - Should You Sell?

Shares of Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL - Get Free Report) gapped down prior to trading on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $58.67, but opened at $55.09. Vericel shares last traded at $54.98, with a volume of 255,029 shares trading hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on VCEL shares. StockNews.com raised Vericel from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 24th. Stephens restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $65.00 target price on shares of Vericel in a research note on Wednesday. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Vericel from $61.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. BTIG Research upped 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, Canaccord Genuity Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $60.00 target price on shares of Vericel in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $62.14.

Vericel Price Performance

The company has a fifty day moving average of $56.61 and a two-hundred day moving average of $49.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 959.33 and a beta of 1.72.

Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL - Get Free Report) last issued 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 the consensus estimate of $55.32 million. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Vericel Co. will post 0.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Vericel

In other Vericel news, Director Paul K. Wotton sold 2,600 shares of Vericel stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.72, for a total value of $152,672.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Robert L. Md Zerbe sold 2,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.00, for a total value of $150,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 26,595 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,595,700. This represents a 8.59 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 15,100 shares of company stock worth $889,872. 5.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Vericel

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Geneva Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Vericel by 61.4% during the third quarter. Geneva Capital Management LLC now owns 1,104,386 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $46,660,000 after buying an additional 420,078 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in Vericel by 214.0% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 587,857 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $24,837,000 after acquiring an additional 400,667 shares during the period. Congress Asset Management Co. grew its stake in shares of Vericel by 37.4% in the third quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 1,291,720 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $54,575,000 after purchasing an additional 351,550 shares in the last quarter. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Vericel by 54.8% during the third quarter. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC now owns 590,145 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $24,934,000 after purchasing an additional 209,009 shares during the period. Finally, Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Vericel during the third quarter valued at about $4,973,000.

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.