Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) Hits New 12-Month High – Should You Buy?

Vericel Corporation (NASDAQ:VCEL)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $47.89 and last traded at $47.4650, with a volume of 41725 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $47.02.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on VCEL. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on shares of Vericel from $48.00 to $42.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Vericel from a “sell (d)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 16th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Vericel from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, June 14th. Finally, HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $64.00 price target on shares of Vericel in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $52.50.

Vericel Trading Down 2.7%

The firm has a market capitalization of $2.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 111.91 and a beta of 1.07. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $38.41 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $36.49.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Vericel news, insider Jonathan Mark Hopper sold 10,000 shares of Vericel stock in a transaction on Friday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.00, for a total value of $450,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 75,753 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,408,885. This trade represents a 11.66% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Sean C. Flynn sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.21, for a total value of $603,150.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 1,647 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $66,225.87. This represents a 90.11% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 47,732 shares of company stock valued at $2,084,167. Insiders own 7.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vericel

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of VCEL. Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its position in Vericel by 2.2% in the 2nd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 23,079 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,027,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Vericel by 17.7% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,886 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $84,000 after acquiring an additional 283 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Vericel by 651.3% during the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 2,667 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $119,000 after acquiring an additional 2,312 shares during the last quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA boosted its holdings in shares of Vericel by 18.4% during the 1st quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 15,097 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $486,000 after acquiring an additional 2,348 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in shares of Vericel by 19.7% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,098,771 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $35,347,000 after acquiring an additional 180,761 shares during the period.

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.