Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) Earns “Buy” Rating from Canaccord Genuity Group

Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reissued by research analysts at Canaccord Genuity Group in a report released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $60.00 target price on the biotechnology company’s stock. Canaccord Genuity Group’s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 7.47% from the company’s previous close.

Several other research firms have also recently issued reports on VCEL. Stephens lifted their price objective on shares of Vericel from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Vericel from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Vericel from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Canaccord Genuity Group began coverage on shares of Vericel in a report on Friday, August 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $57.00 target price on the stock. Finally, HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $60.00 target price on shares of Vericel in a research report on Friday, November 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $58.14.

Vericel Price Performance

Shares of VCEL traded up $2.94 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $55.83. 346,323 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 430,787. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $45.10 and its 200 day moving average price is $46.74. Vericel has a twelve month low of $32.31 and a twelve month high of $57.81. The company has a market capitalization of $2.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 930.66 and a beta of 1.66.

Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.02) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.05) by $0.03. The business had revenue of $57.91 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $55.32 million. Vericel had a return on equity of 1.48% and a net margin of 1.56%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Vericel will post 0.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Steven C. Gilman sold 5,833 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.35, for a total value of $235,361.55. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 11,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $443,850. The trade was a 34.65 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Dominick Colangelo sold 17,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.38, for a total value of $724,150.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 220,937 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,142,373.06. This trade represents a 7.34 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 29,166 shares of company stock valued at $1,200,764. Corporate insiders own 7.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Vericel

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Vericel by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,413,442 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $177,567,000 after acquiring an additional 39,349 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its holdings in Vericel by 1.0% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,372,812 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $100,251,000 after purchasing an additional 22,461 shares during the period. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Vericel by 1.7% during the third quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,075,730 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $87,700,000 after acquiring an additional 34,360 shares during the period. Congress Asset Management Co. boosted its stake in shares of Vericel by 37.4% in the third quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 1,291,720 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $54,575,000 after buying an additional 351,550 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Vericel by 0.8% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,154,053 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $48,768,000 after purchasing an additional 9,613 shares in the last quarter.

About Vericel

Vericel Corporation, a commercial-stage biopharmaceutical company, engages in the research, development, manufacture, and distribution of cellular therapies for sports medicine and severe burn care markets in North America. The company markets autologous cell therapy products comprising MACI, an autologous cultured chondrocytes on porcine collagen membrane for the repair of symptomatic, and single or multiple full-thickness cartilage defects of the knee; Epicel, a permanent skin replacement humanitarian use device for the treatment of adult and pediatric patients with deep-dermal or full-thickness burns; and NexoBrid, a biological orphan product for eschar removal in adults with deep partial-thickness and/or full-thickness thermal burns.