Quality Investor

Vericel Corporation

Rank #129Op. Leverage

VCEL · Nasdaq · Healthcare

Vericel Corporation (VCEL) — Rank #129 by gross profitability (GP/assets 0.41) · ROE 4.5% · Piotroski F-Score N/A.

As-of 2026-09-15 · CIK 0000887359 · all metrics point-in-time as of the filing date.

About

Vericel Corporation, a commercial-stage biopharmaceutical company, engages in the research, development, manufacture, and distribution of cellular therapies and specialty biologic products for sports medicine and severe burn care markets in North America.

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The company markets autologous cell therapy products comprising MACI, an autologous cultured chondrocytes on porcine collagen membrane for the repair of symptomatic, and single or multiple full-thickness cartilage defects of the knee; Epicel, a permanent skin replacement humanitarian use device for the treatment of adult and pediatric patients with deep-dermal or full-thickness burns; and NexoBrid, a biological orphan product for eschar removal in adults and pediatric patients with deep partial-thickness and/or full-thickness thermal burns. Vericel Corporation was formerly known as Aastrom Biosciences, Inc. and changed its name to Vericel Corporation in November 2014.

The company was incorporated in 1989 and is headquartered in Burlington, Massachusetts.

Industry
Biotechnology
Sector
Healthcare
State
MI
Filer Category
Large accelerated filer
Fiscal Year End
December 31
Website
vcel.com

Price History

VCEL-32.0% · -7.4% CAGRSPY+80.5% · +12.5% CAGR

Company Snapshot

P/E and reverse DCF are the primary valuation lenses at this stage.

Market Cap

$2.02B

P/E (annual)

123.3

P/S (annual)

7.3

P/B

5.5

P/OCF (annual)

38.9

Shareholder Yield

-0.9%

Employees

398

Industry

Biotechnology

Exchange

Nasdaq

Signal Flags

2 green
Operating leverage expandingOperating income growing faster than revenue
Sequential beat (rev + EPS)Both revenue and EPS exceeded prior quarter — 1-quarter streak

Quality Profile

Profitability

1/1 pass
GP / assets
0.41
Return on equity
4.5%
Gross margin trend
PASS

Safety

1/1 pass
Balance-sheet safety
PASS
Debt / equity
0.36
Current ratio
5.04×
Net cash
$162.46M

Cash Flow

3/3 pass
Positive FCF
PASS
Cash-backed earnings
PASS
Accruals healthy
PASS
SBC / revenue
14.0%

Growth

2/2 pass
Revenue growth
16.5%
Piotroski F-Score
N/A
Share dilution
0.9%

Terry Smith quality gate

Passes 2/5 Terry Smith thresholds

1 of 5 threshold not computable from filed data.

What Growth Is Priced In

Implied revenue growth (10Y)

27.3%

stretched

The annual FCF growth rate today's price requires over a 10-year horizon (discount rate 10%, terminal growth 2.5%).

Dilution drag: 0.9% — per-share value needs a total required return of 28.2% once share-count change is priced in.

vs. own 6-year median revenue growth: 18.3%

within its own history

Cost-of-equity sensitivity (implied growth at different discount rates)

r = 8%

21.9%

r = 10% (base)

27.3%

r = 12%

32.0%

Net debt / market cap: -7.9%

Base FCF: $24.7M3Y mean FCF: $11.4M

Valuation History

Current multiple vs historical range at each filing date. Band spans 25th-75th percentile.

P / E

Price / diluted EPS

117.8xCheap
117.8xmed 248.1x824.2x

P / S

Price / revenue per share

7.1xCheap
6.4xmed 10.7x18.8x

P / B

Price / book value per share

5.5xCheap
5.5xmed 9.2x30.1x

P / GP

Price / gross profit per share

9.6xCheap
9.3xmed 15.5x27.8x

P / FCF

Price / free cash flow per share

79.4xCheap
79.4xmed 142.1x156.4x

Operating margin expansion and free cash flow are the primary reads at this stage.

Profitability

Gross profitability (GP / assets)

0.41

Primary signal (Novy-Marx).

82nd pctl of 34 SIC 28 peers

Return on equity

4.5%

Gross margin

74.4%

82nd pctl of 34 SIC 28 peers

Revenue growth (YoY)

16.5%

Gross margin improving

Margin trend vs prior year.

PASS

Operating Leverage

2022202320242025
Revenue vs COGS
Revenue vs OpEx
Op. Income vs Revenue

Growth

Revenue CAGR (3Y)

18.9%

Revenue CAGR (5Y)

17.3%

Earnings CAGR (3Y)

FCF CAGR (3Y)

34.9%

Anti-fragile safety

Balance-sheet safety

Composite anti-fragile check.

PASS

Debt / equity

0.36

83rd pctl of 31 SIC 28 peers (best = lowest)

Current ratio

5.04×

85th pctl of 34 SIC 28 peers

Quick ratio

4.53×

Net cash

$162.46M

Cash & equivalents minus total debt.

Cash-flow health

Free cash flow

$24.75M

Operating cash flow minus capex.

Positive free cash flow

PASS

FCF / net income

0.50

Cash-backing of earnings.

FCF/NI divergence

Unfavorable divergence (yellow flag).

PASS

Accruals healthy

Cash-backed earnings.

PASS

SBC / revenue

14.0%

Stock-based comp intensity.

Piotroski F-Score

F-Score

N/A

Only 8/9 components determinable.

Lifecycle Phase History

20202025
Value
Hypergrowth
Startup
Op. Leverage