Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) Reaches New 52-Week High After Earnings Beat

Vericel Corporation (NASDAQ:VCEL)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. 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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.04) by $0.08. Vericel had a net margin of 7.35% and a return on equity of 6.41%. The firm had revenue of $77.46 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $72.69 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted ($0.01) earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.5% on a year-over-year basis.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Vericel

In other Vericel news, insider Sean C. Flynn sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.21, for a total transaction of $603,150.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 1,647 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $66,225.87. This represents a 90.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Joseph Anthony Mara, Jr. sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.75, for a total transaction of $223,750.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 16,009 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $716,402.75. This represents a 23.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 47,732 shares of company stock worth $2,084,167 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 7.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vericel

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of VCEL. Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its stake in shares of Vericel by 2.2% in the 2nd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 23,079 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,027,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Vericel by 17.7% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,886 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $84,000 after purchasing an additional 283 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in Vericel by 651.3% during the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 2,667 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $119,000 after purchasing an additional 2,312 shares during the period. Glenmede Trust Co. NA grew its holdings in Vericel by 18.4% during the first quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 15,097 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $486,000 after purchasing an additional 2,348 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE grew its holdings in Vericel by 19.7% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,098,771 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $35,347,000 after purchasing an additional 180,761 shares during the period.

Vericel Price Performance

The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $41.48 and a 200 day simple moving average of $37.26. The firm has a market cap of $2.49 billion, a PE 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.