Truist Financial Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) Stock

Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) had its price target upped by Truist Financial from $61.00 to $67.00 in a report released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the biotechnology company’s stock.

Several other brokerages also recently issued reports on VCEL. BTIG Research raised their price objective 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. TD Cowen raised their price target on Vericel from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. Canaccord Genuity Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Vericel in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $60.00 target price on shares of Vericel in a report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Stephens raised Vericel to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $61.14.

Vericel Stock Performance

Vericel stock opened at $56.25 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 937.66 and a beta of 1.71. Vericel has a fifty-two week low of $32.31 and a fifty-two week high of $61.49. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $51.15 and a 200-day simple moving average of $48.12.

Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $55.32 million. Vericel had a return on equity of 1.48% and a net margin of 1.56%. As a group, analysts forecast that Vericel will post 0.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Steven C. Gilman sold 5,833 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.35, for a total value of $235,361.55. Following the sale, the director now owns 11,000 shares in the company, valued at $443,850. This represents a 34.65 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Jonathan Mark Hopper sold 10,000 shares of Vericel stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.72, for a total value of $587,200.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 58,371 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,427,545.12. This represents a 14.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 44,266 shares of company stock worth $2,090,636. 5.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Vericel

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Vericel by 4,126.7% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 634 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 619 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC raised its position in Vericel by 319.0% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 662 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 504 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its position in Vericel by 48.1% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,247 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 405 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Vericel by 22.2% in the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 1,773 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $77,000 after purchasing an additional 322 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Vericel in the third quarter valued at approximately $92,000.

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.