Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) Reaches New 12-Month High on Analyst Upgrade

Vericel Corporation (NASDAQ:VCEL)’s share price reached a new 52-week high on Wednesday after Zacks Research upgraded the stock from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating. The company traded as high as $59.75 and last traded at $58.6010, with a volume of 55,467 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $59.03.

VCEL has been the subject of several other research reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded Vericel from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Vericel from $55.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Vericel from $52.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Canaccord Genuity Group set a $60.00 price target on shares of Vericel in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Stephens raised their price objective on shares of Vericel from $55.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Vericel presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $62.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Vericel news, insider Sean C. Flynn sold 15,000 shares of Vericel stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.92, for a total transaction of $778,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 1,990 shares in the company, valued at approximately $103,320.80. The trade was a 88.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Robert L. Md Zerbe sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.23, for a total transaction of $156,690.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 32,995 shares in the company, valued at $1,723,328.85. This trade represents a 8.33% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 22,000 shares of company stock worth $1,128,340 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 7.60% of the company’s stock.

More Vericel News

Here’s some of the latest news about VCEL:

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks Research upgraded VCEL from “hold” to “strong buy,” reinforcing the improving analyst outlook. TickerReport article
• Neutral Sentiment: A report described a significant increase in short interest but also stated that short interest was zero shares and days to cover was zero, making the data internally inconsistent and difficult to interpret.
• Neutral Sentiment: Vericel published a presentation of its third-quarter 2026 results; the entry provided no additional details on the results. Vericel Q3 2026 earnings presentation

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vericel

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of VCEL. Ieq Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Vericel by 50.1% in the third quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 19,832 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $796,000 after acquiring an additional 6,623 shares during the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its position in Vericel by 78.0% during the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 312,194 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $12,556,000 after purchasing an additional 136,785 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Vericel by 41.7% in the 3rd quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 91,026 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $3,654,000 after purchasing an additional 26,790 shares during the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. raised its stake in Vericel by 24.8% in the 3rd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,194 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 237 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Virtus Advisers LLC raised its stake in Vericel by 77.7% in the 3rd quarter. Virtus Advisers LLC now owns 27,661 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,110,000 after purchasing an additional 12,091 shares during the last quarter.

Vericel Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $2.98 billion, a PE ratio of 91.40 and a beta of 1.08. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $41.74 and its 200-day simple moving average is $39.10.

Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 5th. The biotechnology company reported $0.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.06 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $85.37 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $77.95 million. Vericel had a net margin of 10.27% and a return on equity of 9.09%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 26.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.10 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Vericel Corporation will post 0.73 EPS for the current year.

About Vericel

Vericel Corporation is a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing cell therapies and other treatments for serious conditions. Based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, the company markets its products primarily in the United States. Its products include MACI, an implant made from a patient’s own cultured cartilage cells used to repair certain cartilage defects in the knee, and Epicel, a cultured skin graft used to treat patients with deep burns. Vericel also commercializes NexoBrid in the United States, an enzyme-based treatment for removing dead tissue from severe thermal burns.