StockNews.com Lowers Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) to Sell

StockNews.com lowered shares of Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday morning.

A number of other research analysts also recently commented on the company. Canaccord Genuity Group initiated coverage on Vericel in a research note on Friday, August 9th. They set a buy rating and a $57.00 price objective for the company. Canaccord Genuity Group initiated coverage on shares of Vericel in a report on Friday, August 9th. They issued a buy rating and a $57.00 price objective on the stock. HC Wainwright boosted their target price on shares of Vericel from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Vericel from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. Finally, BTIG Research cut their price target on Vericel from $56.00 to $55.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Vericel has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $55.75.

Vericel Stock Down 2.1 %

Shares of VCEL stock opened at $40.09 on Tuesday. Vericel has a fifty-two week low of $30.18 and a fifty-two week high of $54.10. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $45.97 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $47.18. The stock has a market cap of $1.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4,009.00 and a beta of 1.67.

Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) last posted 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). Vericel had a net margin of 0.37% and a return on equity of 0.35%. The business had revenue of $52.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $52.59 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted ($0.11) EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 14.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Vericel will post 0.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Sean C. Flynn sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.18, for a total transaction of $782,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 707 shares in the company, valued at approximately $36,891.26. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, CEO Dominick Colangelo sold 17,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.40, for a total value of $899,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 220,937 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,356,161.80. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Sean C. Flynn sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.18, for a total transaction of $782,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 707 shares in the company, valued at $36,891.26. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 38,333 shares of company stock worth $1,917,562 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 5.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vericel

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Vericel by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,413,442 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $177,567,000 after buying an additional 39,349 shares in the last quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. increased its stake in shares of Vericel by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 1,031,940 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $47,346,000 after purchasing an additional 10,245 shares during the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Vericel by 7.9% during the 2nd quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 908,141 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $41,666,000 after purchasing an additional 66,464 shares in the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its holdings in Vericel by 34.9% in the second 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Congress Asset Management Co. MA increased its position in Vericel by 509.1% during the first quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. MA now owns 836,481 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $43,514,000 after buying an additional 699,147 shares during 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.