Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) Reaches New 1-Year High – Here’s Why

Vericel Corporation (NASDAQ:VCEL)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $47.06 and last traded at $46.98, with a volume of 640664 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $45.15.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VCEL has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $64.00 target price on shares of Vericel in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Wall Street Zen cut Vericel from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, June 14th. Leerink Partners reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $46.00 price target on shares of Vericel in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. Weiss Ratings raised Vericel from a “sell (d)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 16th. Finally, Truist Financial lowered their price objective on Vericel from $48.00 to $42.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $52.50.

Vericel Trading Up 4.1%

The firm has a market cap of $2.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 111.86 and a beta of 1.06. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $36.69 and its 200-day simple moving average is $35.95.

Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.12) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.15) by $0.03. Vericel had a return on equity of 6.41% and a net margin of 7.35%.The firm had revenue of $68.43 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $63.68 million. During the same period last year, the company earned ($0.23) earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 30.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Vericel Corporation will post 0.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Vericel news, insider Jonathan Siegal sold 2,732 shares of Vericel stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.90, for a total transaction of $122,666.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 886 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $39,781.40. The trade was a 75.51% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Sean C. Flynn sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.21, for a total value of $603,150.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 1,647 shares in the company, valued at approximately $66,225.87. This represents a 90.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 47,732 shares of company stock worth $2,084,167 in the last 90 days. 7.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Vericel

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Huntington National Bank lifted its stake in Vericel by 51.3% in the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 805 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 273 shares in the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue increased its holdings in shares of Vericel by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 25,744 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $927,000 after purchasing an additional 353 shares during the period. Osaic Holdings Inc. raised its position in shares of Vericel by 13.7% in the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 2,937 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $125,000 after buying an additional 353 shares in the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System raised its position in shares of Vericel by 0.8% in the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 45,404 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,932,000 after buying an additional 382 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Commonwealth Equity Services LLC boosted its stake in Vericel by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 11,698 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $421,000 after buying an additional 410 shares during the period.

Vericel Company Profile

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.