Vericel Corporation (NASDAQ:VCEL) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Vericel Corporation (NASDAQ:VCEL) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eight ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $56.00.

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded Vericel from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 7th. HC Wainwright upped their price objective on shares of Vericel from $60.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 27th. Leerink Partners reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $46.00 target price on shares of Vericel in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Vericel in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Truist Financial lowered their price target on shares of Vericel from $50.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 18th.

Vericel Trading Up 1.3%

Vericel stock opened at $32.53 on Monday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $36.47 and its 200 day simple moving average is $35.96. Vericel has a 12 month low of $29.24 and a 12 month high of $48.74. The company has a market cap of $1.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 104.94 and a beta of 1.22.

Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The biotechnology company reported $0.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45. The business had revenue of $92.92 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $92.66 million. Vericel had a return on equity of 5.17% and a net margin of 5.98%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.38 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Vericel will post 0.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. AQR Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Vericel in the first quarter worth $242,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Vericel by 6.2% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 31,445 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,403,000 after purchasing an additional 1,847 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Vericel by 13.6% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 371,486 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $16,576,000 after purchasing an additional 44,333 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its holdings in Vericel by 9.0% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 123,028 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $5,490,000 after purchasing an additional 10,191 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Vericel by 11.3% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 227,634 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $9,686,000 after purchasing an additional 23,124 shares during the period.

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.