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Investing.com - BTIG has reiterated its Buy rating and $51.00 price target on Vericel Corporation (NASDAQ:VCEL), currently trading at $39.82 and near its 52-week low, maintaining its positive outlook despite emerging competition in the cartilage repair space. According to InvestingPro data, the company maintains strong financial health with a robust gross margin of 72.5%.
The firm noted that Ocugen (NASDAQ:OCGN) is spinning out NeoCart assets into a new company called OrthoCellix, which plans to conduct a new Phase 3 trial for the cartilage repair therapy that previously failed to meet its primary endpoint in September 2018.
Following NeoCart’s previous clinical failure, Histogenics wound down operations and its public company shell was used for Ocugen’s public debut in April 2019, with Ocugen retaining the NeoCart assets and quietly making progress toward a new trial with FDA feedback.
BTIG emphasized that Vericel maintains "a massive lead on any future competitors in autologous cell therapy within cartilage repair," and its arthroscopic version of MACI will remain the only such product on the market for the foreseeable future.
While OrthoCellix may create "competitive noise" by potentially recruiting some of Vericel’s users for its clinical trial, BTIG stated that these developments don’t warrant any changes to Vericel estimates at this point, though the situation merits close monitoring. With a market capitalization of $2 billion and strong analyst consensus, Vericel shows promising potential. Discover more detailed insights and 12 additional key metrics with InvestingPro’s comprehensive research report.
In other recent news, Vericel Corporation reported its Q1 2025 earnings, achieving a record total net revenue of $52.6 million, although this figure fell short of the forecasted $53.84 million. The company also reported a net loss of $11.2 million, translating to a loss of $0.23 per share, which was wider than the expected EPS forecast of -$0.1338. Despite these results, Vericel has revised its guidance upwards, anticipating strong performance for the remainder of 2025. Canaccord Genuity reiterated its Buy rating on Vericel stock with a target price of $61.00, reflecting confidence in the MACI Arthro’s potential to contribute to the company’s growth. Truist Securities also maintained a Buy rating with a $52.00 price target, emphasizing Vericel’s capacity to sustain revenue growth exceeding 20% in the coming years. The company’s strategic initiatives, including the MACI salesforce expansion and the MACI Arthro launch, are expected to drive further growth. These developments indicate that Vericel is positioning itself for continued expansion in the cartilage repair and burn care markets.
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