Vericel’s (VCEL) “Buy” Rating Reiterated at HC Wainwright

Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reissued by equities research analysts at HC Wainwright in a research report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $60.00 target price on the biotechnology company’s stock. HC Wainwright’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 20.92% from the company’s previous close.

Several other analysts also recently weighed in on VCEL. BTIG Research boosted their target price on shares of Vericel from $56.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price objective on shares of Vericel from $64.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com raised Vericel from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 24th. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $65.00 price target on shares of Vericel in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price objective on Vericel from $61.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $63.14.

Vericel Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VCEL opened at $49.62 on Friday. Vericel has a fifty-two week low of $39.12 and a fifty-two week high of $63.00. The company has a market cap of $2.45 billion, a PE ratio of 827.14 and a beta of 1.72. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $57.30 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $51.75.

Insider Transactions at Vericel

In other news, Director Robert L. Md Zerbe sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.50, for a total transaction of $156,250.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 26,595 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,662,187.50. This represents a 8.59 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Jonathan Siegal sold 1,092 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.99, for a total value of $67,693.08. Following the sale, the insider now owns 1,206 shares in the company, valued at $74,759.94. This trade represents a 47.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 20,100 shares of company stock valued at $1,206,072 in the last 90 days. 5.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vericel

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of Vericel by 214.0% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 587,857 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $24,837,000 after buying an additional 400,667 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp increased its holdings in Vericel by 40.0% in the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 28,073 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,186,000 after acquiring an additional 8,020 shares in the last quarter. 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 worth $48,768,000 after acquiring an additional 9,613 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System lifted its holdings in Vericel by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 23,900 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,312,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vericel in the third quarter valued at about $563,000.

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.