Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) Stock: Insider Robert Md Zerbe Sells 2,000 Shares

Vericel Corporation (NASDAQ:VCEL) Director Robert Md Zerbe sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.88, for a total value of $115,760.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 32,995 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,909,750.60. The trade was a 5.72% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Vericel Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VCEL traded down $0.46 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $56.96. 698,761 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 911,978. Vericel Corporation has a 52 week low of $28.95 and a 52 week high of $59.75. The company has a market cap of $2.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 89.00 and a beta of 1.08. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $42.78 and a 200-day moving average price of $39.41.

Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 5th. The biotechnology company reported $0.27 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.06 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $85.37 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $77.95 million. Vericel had a return on equity of 9.09% and a net margin of 10.27%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 26.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.10 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Vericel Corporation will post 0.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Vericel

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in Vericel during the second quarter valued at $360,023,000. William Blair Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Vericel in the second quarter worth $88,662,000. Aberdeen Group plc boosted its holdings in Vericel by 204.7% in the third quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 2,164,250 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $86,873,000 after acquiring an additional 1,454,012 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in shares of Vericel in the second quarter worth $45,210,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Vericel by 3.6% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 844,755 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $27,173,000 after acquiring an additional 29,135 shares during the last quarter.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on VCEL shares. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Vericel from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 9th. HC Wainwright increased their price target on shares of Vericel from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 6th. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Vericel from $55.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Stephens lifted their price target on shares of Vericel from $55.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 10th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Vericel in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $62.00.

About Vericel

Vericel Corporation is a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing cell therapies and other treatments for serious conditions. Based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, the company markets its products primarily in the United States. Its products include MACI, an implant made from a patient’s own cultured cartilage cells used to repair certain cartilage defects in the knee, and Epicel, a cultured skin graft used to treat patients with deep burns. Vericel also commercializes NexoBrid in the United States, an enzyme-based treatment for removing dead tissue from severe thermal burns.