Vericel Corporation (NASDAQ:VCEL) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Vericel Corporation (NASDAQ:VCEL) has been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the seven analysts that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $57.50.

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Truist Financial reduced their price target on shares of Vericel from $50.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Vericel in a report on Monday, December 29th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Vericel from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 12th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Vericel from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vericel

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of VCEL. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in Vericel in the second quarter valued at about $30,000. Huntington National Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Vericel by 51.3% in the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 805 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 273 shares during the last quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vericel during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. CWM LLC increased its holdings in Vericel by 101.3% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,379 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $59,000 after purchasing an additional 694 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC purchased a new stake in Vericel in the second quarter valued at approximately $60,000.

Vericel Trading Down 3.0%

VCEL opened at $37.40 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $1.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 155.84 and a beta of 1.17. Vericel has a 12-month low of $29.24 and a 12-month high of $63.00. The company’s 50 day moving average is $38.09 and its 200 day moving average is $36.49.

Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The biotechnology company reported $0.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.02) by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $67.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $64.57 million. Vericel had a return on equity of 4.30% and a net margin of 5.06%.The firm’s revenue was up 16.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($0.02) earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Vericel will post 0.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.