Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) Shares Down 4.9% – Should You Sell?
by Mitch Edgeman · The Markets DailyVericel Corporation (NASDAQ:VCEL – Get Free Report) shares dropped 4.9% on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $31.55 and last traded at $31.46. Approximately 1,192,546 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 116% from the average daily volume of 551,810 shares. The stock had previously closed at $33.08.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Leerink Partners restated an “outperform” rating and set a $46.00 price target on shares of Vericel in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. HC Wainwright increased their target price on shares of Vericel from $60.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Truist Financial decreased their target price on shares of Vericel from $50.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Vericel in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Vericel from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 7th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $56.00.
Read Our Latest Analysis on Vericel
Vericel Stock Down 4.8%
The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $35.33 and its 200 day simple moving average is $35.77. The company has a market capitalization of $1.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 94.65 and a beta of 1.22.
Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 26th. The biotechnology company reported $0.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.45. The business had revenue of $92.92 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $92.66 million. Vericel had a net margin of 5.98% and a return on equity of 5.17%. Vericel’s quarterly revenue was up 23.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.38 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Vericel Corporation will post 0.14 earnings per share for the current year.
Institutional Inflows and Outflows
Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. AQR Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Vericel during the first quarter valued at about $242,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Vericel by 6.2% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 31,445 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,403,000 after buying an additional 1,847 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Vericel by 13.6% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 371,486 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $16,576,000 after acquiring an additional 44,333 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its stake in shares of Vericel by 9.0% in the first 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 acquiring an additional 10,191 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc grew its stake in shares of Vericel by 0.7% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 139,161 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $5,921,000 after acquiring an additional 914 shares during the last quarter.
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.