Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) Receives “Buy” Rating from Truist Financial

Truist Financial reissued their buy rating on shares of Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) in a research note published on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a $58.00 price objective on the biotechnology company’s stock, up from their previous price objective of $54.00.

A number of other research analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and set a $70.00 price objective on shares of Vericel in a report on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Vericel from a “sell (d)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 16th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Vericel from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, July 18th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Vericel in a research report on Thursday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $58.40.

Vericel Trading Down 3.5%

Shares of VCEL opened at $45.96 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $2.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 97.79 and a beta of 1.07. Vericel has a 1 year low of $28.95 and a 1 year high of $49.32. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $41.95 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $37.39.

Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The biotechnology company reported $0.04 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.03) by $0.07. The company had revenue of $77.46 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $72.70 million. Vericel had a return on equity of 6.91% and a net margin of 7.91%.Vericel’s revenue was up 22.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted ($0.01) EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Vericel will post 0.49 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Jonathan Mark Hopper sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.00, for a total transaction of $450,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 75,753 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,408,885. This represents a 11.66% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Jonathan Siegal sold 4,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.90, for a total transaction of $220,050.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 1,078 shares in the company, valued at $52,714.20. This trade represents a 80.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 52,232 shares of company stock valued at $2,304,217 in the last quarter. 7.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vericel

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in VCEL. Kestra Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in Vericel in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Quarry LP bought a new position in Vericel during the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Vericel by 116.5% in the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 970 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 522 shares during the period. Truvestments Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Vericel by 175.4% in the 4th quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 1,534 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 977 shares during the period. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC bought a new stake in shares of Vericel in the fourth quarter valued at about $58,000.

More Vericel News

Here are the key news stories impacting Vericel this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Vericel reported second-quarter revenue of $77.5 million, up 22% year over year and above the $72.7 million consensus estimate. Earnings were $0.04 per share, beating expectations for a $0.04 loss, while net income reached $2.2 million and free cash flow was $14.3 million. Vericel Reports Second Quarter 2026 Financial Results
• Positive Sentiment: Management raised full-year 2026 revenue guidance to $330 million-$340 million, a range that brackets or modestly exceeds the $331.9 million analyst consensus. MACI revenue growth of 23% was a key contributor to the quarterly performance. Vericel Beats Q2 Earnings and Revenue Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: The board authorized a $200 million share-repurchase program, which could support earnings per share and signal confidence in Vericel’s cash-generation outlook. Share Repurchase Program Announcement
• Positive Sentiment: Truist reaffirmed its Buy rating and increased its price target to $58 from $54. HC Wainwright also reaffirmed a Buy rating, reinforcing the favorable analyst view. Truist Financial Analyst Rating HC Wainwright Analyst Rating
• Neutral Sentiment: The earnings-call transcript and presentation provide additional operating details but do not indicate a separate material catalyst beyond the reported results and guidance. Q2 2026 Earnings Presentation
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst sentiment is not unanimous, and Vericel trades at a high earnings multiple, leaving the shares sensitive to any slowdown in growth or weaker-than-expected future results. Conflicting Analyst Sentiment

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.