Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL) Insider Jonathan Mark Hopper Sells 10,000 Shares

Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL) insider Jonathan Mark Hopper sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.72, for a total value of $587,200.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 58,371 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,427,545.12. This represents a 14.63 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

Vericel Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ VCEL traded down $0.50 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $58.24. The stock had a trading volume of 420,199 shares, compared to its average volume of 429,472. The company has a market capitalization of $2.87 billion, a PE ratio of 952.67 and a beta of 1.70. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $47.60 and a 200-day simple moving average of $47.41. Vericel Co. has a 1 year low of $32.31 and a 1 year high of $61.49.

Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.02) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.05) by $0.03. The company had revenue of $57.91 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $55.32 million. Vericel had a return on equity of 1.48% and a net margin of 1.56%. As a group, analysts expect that Vericel Co. will post 0.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on VCEL shares. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Vericel in a report on Friday, November 8th. Canaccord Genuity Group initiated coverage on Vericel in a research report on Friday, August 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $57.00 target price on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $60.00 target price on shares of Vericel in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. StockNews.com raised Vericel from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price objective on Vericel from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $59.71.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vericel

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of VCEL. Geneva Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Vericel by 61.4% in the third quarter. Geneva Capital Management LLC now owns 1,104,386 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $46,660,000 after buying an additional 420,078 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in Vericel by 214.0% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 587,857 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $24,837,000 after buying an additional 400,667 shares during the last quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. lifted its holdings in Vericel by 37.4% during the 3rd quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 1,291,720 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $54,575,000 after buying an additional 351,550 shares during the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its holdings in Vericel by 34.9% during the 2nd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 840,787 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $38,575,000 after buying an additional 217,437 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TimesSquare Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Vericel by 54.8% during the 3rd quarter. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC now owns 590,145 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $24,934,000 after buying an additional 209,009 shares during the last quarter.

Vericel Company Profile

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.