ProShare Advisors LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL)

ProShare Advisors LLC cut its holdings in Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL) by 20.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 10,351 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 2,634 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC’s holdings in Vericel were worth $475,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Congress Asset Management Co. MA increased its stake in Vericel by 509.1% in the first quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. MA now owns 836,481 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $43,514,000 after purchasing an additional 699,147 shares during the last quarter. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vericel during the 1st quarter valued at about $12,782,000. Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Vericel by 34.9% during the 2nd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 840,787 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $38,575,000 after acquiring an additional 217,437 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Vericel by 51.5% in the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 611,146 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $28,039,000 after acquiring an additional 207,714 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geneva Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Vericel by 43.6% in the first quarter. Geneva Capital Management LLC now owns 679,165 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $35,330,000 after purchasing an additional 206,202 shares during the period.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VCEL has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Vericel from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. Canaccord Genuity Group initiated coverage on Vericel in a report on Friday, August 9th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $57.00 target price on the stock. Stephens upped their price target on Vericel from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. BTIG Research cut their price objective on Vericel from $56.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 15th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Vericel from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Vericel has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $55.75.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vericel

In other news, insider Sean C. Flynn sold 15,000 shares of Vericel stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.18, for a total transaction of $782,700.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 707 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $36,891.26. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Sean C. Flynn sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.18, for a total transaction of $782,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 707 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $36,891.26. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Joseph Anthony Mara, Jr. sold 5,000 shares of Vericel stock in a transaction on Friday, July 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total transaction of $250,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 14,436 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $721,800. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 38,045 shares of company stock valued at $1,956,725 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 5.20% of the company’s stock.

Vericel Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VCEL opened at $42.25 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $47.45 and its 200 day simple moving average is $47.41. The company has a market cap of $2.05 billion, a P/E ratio of -4,225.00 and a beta of 1.67. Vericel Co. has a one year low of $30.18 and a one year high of $54.10.

Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The biotechnology company reported ($0.10) EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates 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 business’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 posted ($0.11) earnings per share. Analysts predict that Vericel Co. will post 0.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Vericel Company 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.