Analysts Set Vericel Corporation (NASDAQ:VCEL) Price Target at $56.00

Shares of Vericel Corporation (NASDAQ:VCEL) have earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eight brokerages that are covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $56.00.

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on VCEL shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Vericel in a report on Monday, December 29th. Truist Financial reduced their target price on Vericel from $50.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. HC Wainwright raised their price target on Vericel from $60.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Wall Street Zen raised Vericel from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 28th. Finally, Leerink Partners reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $46.00 price objective on shares of Vericel in a report on Tuesday, March 10th.

Institutional Trading of Vericel

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. 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. Kestra Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Vericel during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Vericel in the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. Quarry LP bought a new stake in Vericel in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Vericel by 116.5% in the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 970 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 522 shares during the last quarter.

Vericel Stock Performance

Shares of VCEL opened at $34.14 on Friday. Vericel has a 12-month low of $28.95 and a 12-month high of $45.97. The company has a market cap of $1.74 billion, a PE ratio of 110.13 and a beta of 1.20. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $34.68 and a 200-day moving average price of $35.82.

Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 26th. The biotechnology company reported $0.45 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.45. Vericel had a net margin of 5.98% and a return on equity of 5.17%. The company had revenue of $92.92 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $92.66 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.38 earnings per share. Vericel’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Vericel will post 0.14 earnings per share for the current year.

About Vericel

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.