Franklin Resources Inc. Purchases 4,117 Shares of Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL)

Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in shares of Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL) by 14.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 33,543 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after buying an additional 4,117 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned about 0.07% of Vericel worth $1,412,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in shares of Vericel by 3.7% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 356,434 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $16,353,000 after acquiring an additional 12,710 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its position in Vericel by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 144,572 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $6,633,000 after buying an additional 2,297 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Vericel by 51.5% during the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 611,146 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $28,039,000 after buying an additional 207,714 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its stake in shares of Vericel by 3.3% during the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 12,866 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $590,000 after buying an additional 406 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PFG Investments LLC increased its position in shares of Vericel by 6.2% in the second quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 6,850 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $314,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the last quarter.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Vericel news, Director Steven C. Gilman sold 5,833 shares of Vericel stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.35, for a total value of $235,361.55. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 11,000 shares in the company, valued at $443,850. The trade was a 34.65 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Dominick Colangelo sold 17,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.38, for a total transaction of $724,150.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 220,937 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,142,373.06. This represents a 7.34 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 44,266 shares of company stock valued at $2,090,636. Insiders own 5.20% of the company’s stock.

Vericel Stock Performance

NASDAQ VCEL opened at $57.33 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $2.83 billion, a PE ratio of 955.66 and a beta of 1.71. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $53.32 and a 200-day moving average of $48.66. Vericel Co. has a 52-week low of $32.31 and a 52-week high of $61.49.

Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.02) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.05) by $0.03. Vericel had a net margin of 1.56% and a return on equity of 1.48%. The firm had revenue of $57.91 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $55.32 million. As a group, analysts predict that Vericel Co. will post 0.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and set a $60.00 price target on shares of Vericel in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Stephens raised shares of Vericel to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. Canaccord Genuity Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $60.00 price target on shares of Vericel in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Vericel from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Vericel from $61.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Vericel currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $61.14.

Vericel Profile

Vericel Corporation, a commercial-stage biopharmaceutical company, engages in the research, development, manufacture, and distribution of cellular therapies for sports medicine and severe burn care markets in North America. 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 with deep partial-thickness and/or full-thickness thermal burns.