Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) Stock Price Down 4.9% – Time to Sell?

Vericel Corporation (NASDAQ:VCEL) shares traded down 4.9% on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $31.55 and last traded at $31.46. 1,192,546 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 116% from the average session volume of 551,810 shares. The stock had previously closed at $33.08.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on VCEL shares. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Vericel from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 7th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Vericel in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Leerink Partners reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $46.00 target price on shares of Vericel in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. HC Wainwright boosted their target price on Vericel from $60.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Finally, Truist Financial lowered their price target on Vericel from $50.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 18th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $56.00.

Vericel Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $1.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 101.42 and a beta of 1.22. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $35.61 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $35.83.

Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 26th. The biotechnology company reported $0.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.45. The company had revenue of $92.92 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $92.66 million. Vericel had a net margin of 5.98% and a return on equity of 5.17%. The firm’s revenue was up 23.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.38 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Vericel Corporation will post 0.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Vericel

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Huntington National Bank boosted its position in shares of Vericel by 51.3% during the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 805 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 273 shares during the period. Kestra Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in Vericel in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Vericel in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Quarry LP bought a new stake in Vericel in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 522 shares in the last quarter.

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.