Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) Shares Gap Down to $49.52

Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL)’s stock price gapped down before the market opened on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $49.52, but opened at $46.00. Vericel shares last traded at $47.72, with a volume of 84,179 shares traded.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on VCEL. HC Wainwright increased their target price on shares of Vericel from $46.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 1st. TheStreet upgraded Vericel from a “d+” rating to a “c-” rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Finally, Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and set a $54.00 price objective on shares of Vericel in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.40.

Vericel Stock Down 4.3 %

The company has a market capitalization of $2.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -550.22 and a beta of 1.74. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $47.25 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $41.57.

Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 29th. The biotechnology company reported $0.26 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.18 by $0.08. Vericel had a negative return on equity of 1.55% and a negative net margin of 1.61%. The business had revenue of $65.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $64.28 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.12 EPS. Vericel’s quarterly revenue was up 23.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Vericel Co. will post 0.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Vericel

In other Vericel news, CEO Dominick Colangelo sold 17,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.59, for a total transaction of $780,325.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 195,307 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,708,739.13. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, Director Robert L. Md Zerbe sold 3,278 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.57, for a total value of $169,046.46. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 23,395 shares in the company, valued at $1,206,480.15. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Dominick Colangelo sold 17,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.59, for a total transaction of $780,325.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 195,307 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,708,739.13. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 54,267 shares of company stock valued at $2,450,996. 7.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vericel

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. MCF Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Vericel by 86.1% in the first quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 482 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 223 shares in the last quarter. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI acquired a new stake in shares of Vericel in the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale bought a new stake in shares of Vericel during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vericel during the fourth quarter valued at $65,000. Finally, Sentry Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vericel during the fourth quarter valued at $136,000.

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.