Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) Reaches New 12-Month High After Earnings Beat

Vericel Corporation (NASDAQ:VCEL) shares reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The company traded as high as $49.32 and last traded at $48.6450, with a volume of 44643 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $46.62.

The biotechnology company reported $0.04 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.04) by $0.08. The company had revenue of $77.46 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $72.69 million. Vericel had a return on equity of 6.41% and a net margin of 7.35%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($0.01) EPS.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on VCEL. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Vericel from a “sell (d)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 16th. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $70.00 price target on shares of Vericel in a research report on Tuesday. Wall Street Zen upgraded Vericel from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 18th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price objective on Vericel from $42.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $57.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Sean C. Flynn sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.64, for a total transaction of $684,600.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 1,647 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $75,169.08. This represents a 90.11% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Joseph Anthony Mara, Jr. sold 5,000 shares of Vericel stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.75, for a total transaction of $223,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 16,009 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $716,402.75. This trade represents a 23.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 47,732 shares of company stock valued at $2,084,167. Company insiders own 7.60% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vericel

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Aberdeen Group plc raised its stake in shares of Vericel by 7.6% in the fourth quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 583,884 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $21,026,000 after purchasing an additional 41,018 shares during the last quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Vericel by 22.5% during the fourth quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC now owns 1,580,967 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $56,931,000 after purchasing an additional 290,795 shares in the last quarter. Granite Investment Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Vericel by 66.6% during the first quarter. Granite Investment Partners LLC now owns 120,236 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $3,868,000 after buying an additional 48,056 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its position in shares of Vericel by 2,152.6% during the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 45,885 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,652,000 after buying an additional 43,848 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Vericel by 10.6% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 187,616 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $6,756,000 after buying an additional 18,002 shares in the last quarter.

Vericel Trading Up 4.7%

The firm has a fifty day moving average of $41.48 and a 200 day moving average of $37.26. The company has a market capitalization of $2.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 116.07 and a beta of 1.07.

Vericel Company Profile

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.