Vericel Corporation (NASDAQ:VCEL) Receives $57.50 Average Price Target from Analysts

Shares of Vericel Corporation (NASDAQ:VCEL) have earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the seven brokerages that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $57.50.

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Vericel from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 12th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Vericel in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Truist Financial cut their price objective on Vericel from $50.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Vericel from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday.

Vericel Trading Down 3.3%

Shares of VCEL opened at $37.85 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $1.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 157.71 and a beta of 1.17. Vericel has a 12 month low of $29.24 and a 12 month high of $63.00. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $37.86 and its two-hundred day moving average is $36.38.

Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The biotechnology company reported $0.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.02) by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $67.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $64.57 million. Vericel had a return on equity of 4.30% and a net margin of 5.06%.The business’s revenue was up 16.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($0.02) EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Vericel will post 0.14 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vericel

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. William Blair Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Vericel by 90.3% in the third quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 2,210,929 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $69,578,000 after buying an additional 1,048,864 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its stake in Vericel by 244.6% during the 2nd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 859,486 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $35,755,000 after acquiring an additional 610,045 shares in the last quarter. Geneva Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Vericel by 30.7% in the 2nd quarter. Geneva Capital Management LLC now owns 1,784,927 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $75,949,000 after acquiring an additional 419,183 shares during the last quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Vericel by 19.5% in the 2nd quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,463,590 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $104,826,000 after purchasing an additional 401,990 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Champlain Investment Partners LLC lifted its stake in Vericel by 62.5% in the 2nd quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 997,291 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $42,435,000 after purchasing an additional 383,498 shares in the last quarter.

About Vericel

Vericel Corporation is a biotechnology company specializing in the development, manufacturing and commercialization of cell-based therapies for patients with severe diseases and conditions. The company’s expertise lies in regenerative medicine, where it harnesses the power of autologous cell processing to create products designed to restore function and promote healing in damaged tissues.

Vericel currently markets two FDA-approved therapies. MACI® (autologous cultured chondrocytes on porcine collagen membrane) is indicated for the repair of symptomatic cartilage defects of the knee in adult patients.