Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL) Receives $55.75 Average Price Target from Analysts

Shares of Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL) have been assigned an average rating of “Buy” from the nine research firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $55.75.

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Vericel from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. BTIG Research cut their price objective on shares of Vericel from $56.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 15th. Canaccord Genuity Group assumed coverage on shares of Vericel in a research report on Friday, August 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $57.00 price objective on the stock. HC Wainwright boosted their price objective on shares of Vericel from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group assumed coverage on shares of Vericel in a research report on Friday, August 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $57.00 price objective on the stock.

Vericel Stock Up 4.9 %

Vericel stock opened at $43.36 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $2.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4,336.00 and a beta of 1.67. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $46.57 and its 200 day moving average is $47.28. Vericel has a 52-week low of $30.18 and a 52-week high of $54.10.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Dominick Colangelo sold 17,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Dominick Colangelo sold 17,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Sean C. Flynn sold 15,000 shares of the 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 707 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $36,891.26. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 43,333 shares of company stock valued at $2,167,562 over the last three months. 5.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Vericel

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its position in shares of Vericel by 106.1% during the third quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 24,486 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,035,000 after buying an additional 12,605 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its position in shares of Vericel by 104.9% in the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 4,108 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $188,000 after purchasing an additional 2,103 shares during the last quarter. Algert Global LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vericel in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $213,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its position in shares of Vericel by 5.4% in the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 26,472 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,215,000 after purchasing an additional 1,355 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vericel in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $513,000.

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.