Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) Insider Jonathan Mark Hopper Sells 3,472 Shares
by Mitch Edgeman · The Markets DailyVericel Corporation (NASDAQ:VCEL – Get Free Report) insider Jonathan Mark Hopper sold 3,472 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.00, for a total transaction of $121,520.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 75,556 shares in the company, valued at $2,644,460. This represents a 4.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.
Vericel Stock Down 0.2%
Shares of NASDAQ VCEL traded down $0.06 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $34.08. 409,229 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 599,824. The company has a market cap of $1.74 billion, a PE ratio of 109.94 and a beta of 1.20. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $34.68 and a 200-day moving average price of $35.82. Vericel Corporation has a 12 month low of $28.95 and a 12 month high of $45.97.
Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL – Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The biotechnology company reported $0.45 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.45. Vericel had a net margin of 5.98% and a return on equity of 5.17%. The company had revenue of $92.92 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $92.66 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.38 earnings per share. Vericel’s revenue was up 23.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Vericel Corporation will post 0.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Analyst Ratings Changes
VCEL has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Vericel in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Leerink Partners reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $46.00 price target on shares of Vericel in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. HC Wainwright raised their price target on Vericel from $60.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 27th. Truist Financial dropped their price target on Vericel from $50.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Vericel from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 28th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Vericel has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $56.00.
View Our Latest Report on VCEL
Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vericel
A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in VCEL. Congress Asset Management Co. lifted its position in Vericel by 11.4% during the 4th quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 1,664,578 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $59,941,000 after acquiring an additional 169,971 shares during the period. GSA Capital Partners LLP increased its holdings in shares of Vericel by 174.0% in the third quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 64,387 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $2,026,000 after purchasing an additional 40,892 shares during the period. Frontier Capital Management Co. LLC raised its stake in shares of Vericel by 74.3% in the second quarter. Frontier Capital Management Co. LLC now owns 398,960 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $16,976,000 after purchasing an additional 170,006 shares during the last quarter. Aberdeen Group plc lifted its holdings in shares of Vericel by 159.5% during the third quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 542,866 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $17,084,000 after purchasing an additional 333,649 shares during the period. Finally, William Blair Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Vericel by 90.3% during the third quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 2,210,929 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $69,578,000 after purchasing an additional 1,048,864 shares during the period.
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.