Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) Stock Price Down 5.9% – Here’s What Happened

Vericel Corporation (NASDAQ:VCEL) shares traded down 5.9% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $44.89 and last traded at $44.6650. Approximately 204,923 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 67% from the average daily volume of 612,188 shares. The stock had previously closed at $47.49.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen cut Vericel from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, June 14th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Vericel from a “sell (d)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 16th. Truist Financial decreased their target price on Vericel from $48.00 to $42.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $64.00 target price on shares of Vericel in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Vericel has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $52.50.

Vericel Stock Down 5.3%

The company has a market cap of $2.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 106.94 and a beta of 1.07. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $38.66 and its 200-day moving average price is $36.56.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Sean C. Flynn sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.21, for a total value of $603,150.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 1,647 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $66,225.87. This trade represents a 90.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Jonathan Siegal sold 2,732 shares of Vericel stock in a transaction on Friday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.90, for a total value of $122,666.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 886 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $39,781.40. This trade represents a 75.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 47,732 shares of company stock valued at $2,084,167 over the last three months. Insiders own 7.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its holdings in Vericel by 2.2% during the 2nd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 23,079 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,027,000 after buying an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Vericel by 17.7% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,886 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $84,000 after buying an additional 283 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Vericel by 651.3% in the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 2,667 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $119,000 after buying an additional 2,312 shares in the last quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA boosted its position in shares of Vericel by 18.4% in the first quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 15,097 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $486,000 after acquiring an additional 2,348 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE boosted its position in shares of Vericel by 19.7% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,098,771 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $35,347,000 after acquiring an additional 180,761 shares during the period.

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.