Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) Insider Sells $684,600.00 in Stock

Vericel Corporation (NASDAQ:VCEL) insider Sean Flynn sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.64, for a total value of $684,600.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 1,647 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $75,169.08. This represents a 90.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

Vericel Trading Up 4.1%

Shares of NASDAQ:VCEL opened at $46.98 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $36.96 and a 200 day moving average price of $36.03. Vericel Corporation has a 12-month low of $28.95 and a 12-month high of $47.06. The company has a market capitalization of $2.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 111.86 and a beta of 1.07.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vericel

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Huntington National Bank raised its holdings in Vericel by 51.3% during the third 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. Kestra Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vericel in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Quarry LP purchased a new position in shares of Vericel in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Vericel by 116.5% in the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 970 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 522 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Truvestments Capital LLC raised its stake in Vericel by 175.4% during the 4th quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 1,534 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $55,000 after acquiring an additional 977 shares in the last quarter.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on VCEL. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $64.00 price objective on shares of Vericel in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Weiss Ratings raised Vericel from a “sell (d)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 16th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Vericel from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, June 14th. Leerink Partners reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $46.00 price target on shares of Vericel in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. Finally, Truist Financial reduced their price target on Vericel from $48.00 to $42.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $52.50.

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.