Leerink Partnrs Has Bearish Outlook for Vericel Q4 Earnings

Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL - Free Report) - Equities researchers at Leerink Partnrs lowered their Q4 2024 EPS estimates for Vericel in a research note issued on Monday, November 25th. Leerink Partnrs analyst M. Kratky now forecasts that the biotechnology company will post earnings of $0.32 per share for the quarter, down from their prior estimate of $0.33. The consensus estimate for Vericel's current full-year earnings is $0.13 per share. Leerink Partnrs also issued estimates for Vericel's Q4 2025 earnings at $0.36 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $0.38 EPS, FY2026 earnings at $0.80 EPS, FY2027 earnings at $1.34 EPS and FY2028 earnings at $1.79 EPS.

Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.02) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.05) by $0.03. The business had revenue of $57.91 million during 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%.

VCEL has been the topic of a number of other research reports. HC Wainwright restated a "buy" rating and set a $60.00 price target on shares of Vericel in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Stephens upped their price objective on shares of Vericel from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. BTIG Research lifted their target price on shares of Vericel from $56.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday. Canaccord Genuity Group restated a "buy" rating and issued a $60.00 price target on shares of Vericel in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Vericel from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Vericel has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $59.71.

Vericel Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:VCEL traded up $0.13 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $58.75. The company had a trading volume of 349,653 shares, compared to its average volume of 432,122. The stock has a market cap of $2.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 979.17 and a beta of 1.66. Vericel has a 52-week low of $32.31 and a 52-week high of $61.49. The company's 50 day moving average price is $46.69 and its 200 day moving average price is $47.14.

Insider Activity at Vericel

In related news, Director Robert L. Md Zerbe sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Steven C. Gilman sold 5,833 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.35, for a total value of $235,361.55. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,000 shares in the company, valued at $443,850. This represents a 34.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 31,666 shares of company stock worth $1,350,764 in the last 90 days. 5.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vericel

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VCEL. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Vericel by 1.2% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,413,442 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $177,567,000 after acquiring an additional 39,349 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its position in Vericel by 1.0% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,372,812 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $100,251,000 after acquiring an additional 22,461 shares during the last quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in Vericel by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,075,730 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $87,700,000 after acquiring an additional 34,360 shares in the last quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. raised its holdings in Vericel by 37.4% in 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 acquiring an additional 351,550 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Vericel by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,154,053 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $48,768,000 after purchasing an additional 9,613 shares in 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.