Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) Stock Rating Lowered by Wall Street Zen

Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) was downgraded by analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Saturday.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. HC Wainwright increased their target price on Vericel from $60.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Vericel in a report on Monday, December 29th. Truist Financial reduced their price target on Vericel from $50.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. Finally, Zacks Research cut Vericel from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 12th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $58.50.

Vericel Stock Down 0.9%

VCEL opened at $33.71 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $36.80 and a 200-day moving average price of $36.07. Vericel has a twelve month low of $29.24 and a twelve month high of $50.36. The company has a market capitalization of $1.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 108.74 and a beta of 1.22.

Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The biotechnology company reported $0.45 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45. The company had revenue of $92.92 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $92.66 million. Vericel had a net margin of 5.98% and a return on equity of 5.17%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.38 EPS. Vericel’s revenue was up 23.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Vericel will post 0.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Huntington National Bank increased its position in Vericel by 51.3% during the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 805 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 273 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its position in shares of Vericel by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 14,882 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $468,000 after purchasing an additional 277 shares during the period. Osaic Holdings Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Vericel by 13.7% during the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 2,937 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $125,000 after purchasing an additional 353 shares in the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue increased its position in shares of Vericel by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 25,744 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $927,000 after buying an additional 353 shares during the period. Finally, California State Teachers Retirement System increased its position in shares of Vericel by 0.8% during the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 45,404 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,932,000 after buying an additional 382 shares during the period.

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.