Analysts Set Vericel Corporation (NASDAQ:VCEL) Price Target at $55.40

Vericel Corporation (NASDAQ:VCEL) has earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eight research firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $55.40.

VCEL has been the subject of several research reports. 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. HC Wainwright upped their price target on shares of Vericel from $60.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Vericel from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 28th. Finally, Truist Financial reduced their price objective on shares of Vericel from $48.00 to $42.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th.

Vericel Stock Performance

Shares of VCEL opened at $36.49 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $34.04 and a 200-day moving average price of $36.16. Vericel has a fifty-two week low of $28.95 and a fifty-two week high of $45.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.86 billion, a PE ratio of 117.71 and a beta of 1.15.

Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The biotechnology company reported $0.45 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.45. Vericel had a net margin of 5.98% and a return on equity of 5.17%. The firm had revenue of $92.92 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $92.66 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.38 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 23.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Vericel will post 0.45 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Vericel

In related news, insider Jonathan Mark Hopper sold 3,472 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.00, for a total transaction of $121,520.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 75,556 shares in the company, valued at $2,644,460. The trade was a 4.39% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 7.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of VCEL. Huntington National Bank raised its stake in shares of Vericel by 51.3% during the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 805 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 273 shares in the last quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Vericel during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Vericel during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Quarry LP bought a new position in shares of Vericel during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Vericel by 116.5% during the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 970 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 522 shares in the last quarter.

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.