Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) Shares Cross Above 200 Day Moving Average - Should You Sell?

Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL - Get Free Report) shares crossed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Tuesday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $49.27 and traded as high as $59.43. Vericel shares last traded at $58.08, with a volume of 394,963 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VCEL has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Canaccord Genuity Group reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Vericel in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. BTIG Research boosted 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. Truist Financial raised their target price 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. Stephens upgraded Vericel to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, December 2nd. Finally, HC Wainwright reissued a "buy" rating and set a $60.00 price target on shares of Vericel in a research note on Friday, November 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $61.14.

Vericel Stock Up 2.5 %

The stock has a fifty day moving average of $55.12 and a two-hundred day moving average of $49.36. The stock has a market cap of $2.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 992.33 and a beta of 1.72.

Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.02) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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. Equities research analysts anticipate that Vericel Co. will post 0.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Steven C. Gilman sold 5,833 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.36, for a total value of $241,252.88. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 11,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $454,960. This represents a 34.65 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Paul K. Wotton sold 2,600 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.72, for a total value of $152,672.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 27,402 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,609,045.44. This represents a 8.67 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 38,433 shares of company stock valued at $1,855,275. Company insiders own 5.20% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Vericel

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in VCEL. Geneva Capital Management LLC grew its stake 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 valued at $46,660,000 after acquiring an additional 420,078 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 400,667 shares during the last quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. grew its stake in Vericel by 37.4% during the 3rd quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 1,291,720 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $54,575,000 after purchasing an additional 351,550 shares in the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. increased its holdings in Vericel by 34.9% during the 2nd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 840,787 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $38,575,000 after purchasing an additional 217,437 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TimesSquare Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Vericel by 54.8% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter.

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.