Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) Stock Rating Upgraded by StockNews.com

Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) was upgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Monday.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on the stock. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Vericel from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. Canaccord Genuity Group began coverage on Vericel in a research note on Friday, August 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $57.00 target price on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group began coverage on Vericel in a research note on Friday, August 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $57.00 price target for the company. HC Wainwright upped their price objective on Vericel from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Stephens increased their target price on Vericel from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $55.75.

Vericel Trading Down 5.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ VCEL opened at $40.05 on Monday. Vericel has a 12-month low of $30.18 and a 12-month high of $54.10. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $47.19 and its 200-day moving average price is $47.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4,005.00 and a beta of 1.67.

Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The biotechnology company reported ($0.10) earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of ($0.10). The firm had revenue of $52.70 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $52.59 million. Vericel had a return on equity of 0.35% and a net margin of 0.37%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($0.11) EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Vericel will post 0.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Sean C. Flynn sold 15,000 shares of Vericel stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.18, for a total transaction of $782,700.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 707 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $36,891.26. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Vericel news, insider Sean C. Flynn sold 15,000 shares of Vericel stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.18, for a total value of $782,700.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 707 shares in the company, valued at $36,891.26. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Joseph Anthony Mara, Jr. sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total transaction of $250,000.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 14,436 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $721,800. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 38,045 shares of company stock worth $1,956,725. 5.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vericel

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Congress Asset Management Co. MA boosted its holdings in Vericel by 509.1% in the first quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. MA now owns 836,481 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $43,514,000 after acquiring an additional 699,147 shares in the last quarter. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Vericel in the 1st quarter worth approximately $12,782,000. Federated Hermes Inc. grew its position 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. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Vericel by 51.5% during the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 611,146 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $28,039,000 after purchasing an additional 207,714 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geneva Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Vericel by 43.6% during the 1st quarter. Geneva Capital Management LLC now owns 679,165 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $35,330,000 after purchasing an additional 206,202 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.