Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) Trading 5.3% Higher – Should You Buy?

Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL) rose 5.3% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $59.44 and last traded at $59.44. Approximately 106,520 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 75% from the average daily volume of 424,401 shares. The stock had previously closed at $56.46.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Canaccord Genuity Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $60.00 price target on shares of Vericel in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Stephens upgraded shares of Vericel to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 2nd. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $60.00 price objective on shares of Vericel in a research note on Friday, November 8th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Vericel from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, BTIG Research lifted their price target on Vericel from $56.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Vericel has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $59.71.

Vericel Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $2.80 billion, a PE ratio of 941.00 and a beta of 1.71. The company has a fifty day moving average of $50.54 and a 200-day moving average of $48.00.

Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.02) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.05) by $0.03. The business had revenue of $57.91 million during 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%. Equities analysts anticipate that Vericel Co. will post 0.13 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vericel

In related news, insider Jonathan Mark Hopper sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.72, for a total value of $587,200.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 58,371 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,427,545.12. This trade represents a 14.63 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Paul K. Wotton sold 2,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.72, for a total value of $152,672.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 27,402 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,609,045.44. This trade represents a 8.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 44,266 shares of company stock worth $2,090,636 over the last ninety days. 5.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vericel

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in Vericel by 214.0% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 587,857 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $24,837,000 after buying an additional 400,667 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Vericel in the third quarter worth about $563,000. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. lifted its position in shares of Vericel by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 1,079,048 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $45,590,000 after purchasing an additional 47,108 shares during the last quarter. Scholtz & Company LLC bought a new stake in Vericel during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,357,000. Finally, Premier Fund Managers Ltd acquired a new stake in Vericel in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $781,000.

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.