Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) CFO Sells $223,750.00 in Stock

Vericel Corporation (NASDAQ:VCEL) CFO Joseph Anthony Mara, Jr. sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.75, for a total value of $223,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 16,009 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $716,402.75. The trade was a 23.80% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

Vericel Stock Performance

VCEL opened at $46.98 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $36.96 and its 200 day simple moving average is $36.03. Vericel Corporation has a 52-week low of $28.95 and a 52-week high of $47.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.40 billion, a PE ratio of 111.86 and a beta of 1.07.

Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.12) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.15) by $0.03. Vericel had a return on equity of 6.41% and a net margin of 7.35%.The firm had revenue of $68.43 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $63.68 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.23) EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 30.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Vericel Corporation will post 0.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on VCEL shares. Leerink Partners reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $46.00 price target on shares of Vericel in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Vericel from a “sell (d)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 16th. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and set a $64.00 price objective on shares of Vericel in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Vericel from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, June 14th. Finally, Truist Financial cut their target price on shares of Vericel from $48.00 to $42.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $52.50.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. AQR Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Vericel during the first quarter worth approximately $242,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its position in shares of Vericel by 6.2% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 31,445 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,403,000 after purchasing an additional 1,847 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Vericel by 13.6% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 371,486 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $16,576,000 after purchasing an additional 44,333 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its holdings in Vericel by 9.0% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 123,028 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $5,490,000 after purchasing an additional 10,191 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd lifted its holdings in Vericel by 5.1% during the 2nd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 277,253 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $11,797,000 after purchasing an additional 13,422 shares during the last quarter.

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.