Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) CFO Sells 25,000 Shares of Company Stock

Vericel Corporation (NASDAQ:VCEL) CFO Joseph Anthony Mara, Jr. sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.26, for a total transaction of $1,456,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 16,186 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $942,996.36. This represents a 60.70% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Vericel Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VCEL traded down $2.03 during trading on Thursday, hitting $57.42. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 826,522 shares, compared to its average volume of 900,707. Vericel Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $28.95 and a fifty-two week high of $59.75. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $42.45 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $39.30. The company has a market capitalization of $2.93 billion, a PE ratio of 92.89 and a beta of 1.08.

Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 5th. The biotechnology company reported $0.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.06 by $0.21. The business had revenue of $85.37 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $77.95 million. Vericel had a return on equity of 9.09% and a net margin of 10.27%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 26.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.10 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Vericel Corporation will post 0.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VCEL has been the topic of several recent research reports. HC Wainwright upped their price target on Vericel from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 6th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Vericel from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 7th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Vericel from $55.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Zacks Research raised Vericel from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Stephens upped their target price on shares of Vericel from $55.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. One investment 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.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $62.00.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vericel

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Lisanti Capital Growth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vericel during the second quarter worth $5,356,000. Man Group plc purchased a new position in Vericel in the second quarter valued at $2,998,000. Scholtz & Company LLC acquired a new stake in Vericel in the second quarter valued at $2,287,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in Vericel in the second quarter valued at $12,366,000. Finally, Madison Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Vericel during the 2nd quarter worth about $2,230,000.

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.