Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) Issues Earnings Results

Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The biotechnology company reported ($0.08) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.11) by $0.03, Briefing.com reports. The business had revenue of $51.28 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $49.07 million. Vericel had a negative net margin of 1.61% and a negative return on equity of 1.55%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 25.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.16) earnings per share. Vericel updated its FY 2024 guidance to EPS.

Vericel Stock Up 2.0 %

NASDAQ VCEL traded up $0.96 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $48.65. 318,746 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 525,413. The stock has a market cap of $2.35 billion, a PE ratio of -540.56 and a beta of 1.74. Vericel has a 52 week low of $30.18 and a 52 week high of $53.05. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $47.24 and a 200 day moving average price of $41.61.

Insider Activity

In other Vericel news, Director Robert L. Md Zerbe sold 3,278 shares of Vericel stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.57, for a total transaction of $169,046.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 23,395 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,206,480.15. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, Director Robert L. Md Zerbe sold 3,278 shares of Vericel stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.57, for a total transaction of $169,046.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 23,395 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,206,480.15. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Michael Halpin sold 7,874 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.71, for a total transaction of $352,046.54. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 949 shares in the company, valued at $42,429.79. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 54,267 shares of company stock valued at $2,450,996. 7.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. HC Wainwright increased their price target on Vericel from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $54.00 price objective on shares of Vericel in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Finally, TheStreet upgraded shares of Vericel from a “d+” rating to a “c-” rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.80.

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.