Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) Director Robert Md Zerbe Sells 2,000 Shares of Stock

Vericel Corporation (NASDAQ:VCEL) Director Robert Md Zerbe sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.88, for a total transaction of $115,760.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 32,995 shares in the company, valued at $1,909,750.60. The trade was a 5.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

Vericel Stock Performance

NASDAQ VCEL opened at $57.42 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $2.93 billion, a PE ratio of 89.72 and a beta of 1.08. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $42.45 and a 200-day moving average of $39.30. Vericel Corporation has a 52-week low of $28.95 and a 52-week high of $59.75.

Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 5th. The biotechnology company reported $0.27 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.06 by $0.21. Vericel had a net margin of 10.27% and a return on equity of 9.09%. The business had revenue of $85.37 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $77.95 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.10 EPS. Vericel’s quarterly revenue was up 26.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Vericel Corporation will post 0.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on VCEL. Truist Financial upped their target price on Vericel from $52.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 6th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Vericel in a report on Thursday, October 29th. HC Wainwright boosted their price target on Vericel from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 6th. Zacks Research upgraded Vericel from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price objective on Vericel from $55.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $62.00.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vericel

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. MCF Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Vericel by 293.0% in the second quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 782 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 583 shares during the period. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in Vericel during the 2nd quarter worth $36,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its stake in Vericel by 24.8% during the 3rd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,194 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 237 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP acquired a new position in Vericel in the 2nd quarter valued at $60,000. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Vericel in the 1st quarter valued at $61,000.

About Vericel

Vericel Corporation is a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing cell therapies and other treatments for serious conditions. Based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, the company markets its products primarily in the United States. Its products include MACI, an implant made from a patient’s own cultured cartilage cells used to repair certain cartilage defects in the knee, and Epicel, a cultured skin graft used to treat patients with deep burns. Vericel also commercializes NexoBrid in the United States, an enzyme-based treatment for removing dead tissue from severe thermal burns.