Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL) Stock Position Lifted by Rhumbline Advisers

Rhumbline Advisers raised its position in Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL) by 1.6% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 144,572 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after buying an additional 2,297 shares during the quarter. Rhumbline Advisers’ holdings in Vericel were worth $6,633,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VCEL. MCF Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Vericel by 86.1% in the first quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 482 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 223 shares during the period. CWM LLC lifted its stake in shares of Vericel by 319.0% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 662 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 504 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in Vericel by 9.7% in the second quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,484 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $114,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Vericel by 178.7% in the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 2,584 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $134,000 after buying an additional 1,657 shares in the last quarter. Finally, RiverPark Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Vericel in the first quarter valued at about $147,000.

Vericel Stock Up 3.6 %

Shares of VCEL opened at $45.87 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $48.41 and its 200 day moving average is $47.40. Vericel Co. has a 12-month low of $30.18 and a 12-month high of $54.10. The stock has a market cap of $2.25 billion, a P/E ratio of -4,582.42 and a beta of 1.67.

Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The biotechnology company reported ($0.10) earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of ($0.10). The business had revenue of $52.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $52.59 million. Vericel had a net margin of 0.37% and a return on equity of 0.35%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned ($0.11) earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Vericel Co. will post 0.12 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Vericel

In other news, insider Sean C. Flynn sold 1,474 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.84, for a total value of $67,568.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 487 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,324.08. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Sean C. Flynn sold 1,474 shares of Vericel stock in a transaction on Monday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.84, for a total transaction of $67,568.16. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 487 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,324.08. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Dominick Colangelo sold 17,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.40, for a total value of $899,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 220,937 shares in the company, valued at $11,356,161.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 46,291 shares of company stock worth $2,329,169. Company insiders own 5.20% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on VCEL shares. BTIG Research decreased their target price on Vericel from $56.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 15th. Canaccord Genuity Group started coverage on Vericel in a research report on Friday, August 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $57.00 target price for the company. Canaccord Genuity Group assumed coverage on Vericel in a research note on Friday, August 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $57.00 price objective on the stock. Truist Financial boosted their price target on Vericel from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their target price on Vericel from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Vericel has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $55.75.

About Vericel

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.