Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) Stock Crosses Above 200-Day Moving Average – Time to Sell?

Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL) shares crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Friday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $50.40 and traded as high as $58.01. Vericel shares last traded at $57.43, with a volume of 376,137 shares traded.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on VCEL shares. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set a $65.00 target price on shares of Vericel in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. StockNews.com upgraded Vericel from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 24th. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and issued a $60.00 target price on shares of Vericel in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Truist Financial upped their price target 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. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $60.00 price objective on shares of Vericel in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $62.14.

Vericel Stock Performance

The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $57.40 and its 200 day simple moving average is $50.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 957.33 and a beta of 1.72.

Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.02) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.05) by $0.03. Vericel had a net margin of 1.56% and a return on equity of 1.48%. The company had revenue of $57.91 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $55.32 million. Analysts anticipate that Vericel Co. will post 0.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Vericel

In other Vericel news, Director Paul K. Wotton sold 2,600 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.72, for a total value of $152,672.00. Following the completion of 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 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 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 58,371 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,427,545.12. The trade was a 14.63 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 15,100 shares of company stock worth $889,872 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 5.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vericel

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in Vericel by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,372,812 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $100,251,000 after buying an additional 22,461 shares during the period. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Vericel by 1.7% in the third quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,075,730 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $87,700,000 after purchasing an additional 34,360 shares during the last quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Vericel by 37.4% during the third quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 1,291,720 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $54,575,000 after purchasing an additional 351,550 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Vericel by 0.8% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,154,053 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $48,768,000 after buying an additional 9,613 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geneva Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Vericel by 61.4% in the 3rd quarter. Geneva Capital Management LLC now owns 1,104,386 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $46,660,000 after buying an additional 420,078 shares during the period.

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.