Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL) Shares Acquired by Arizona State Retirement System

Arizona State Retirement System raised its holdings in shares of Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL) by 3.3% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,866 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 406 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System’s holdings in Vericel were worth $590,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Vericel during the first quarter worth $595,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its holdings in shares of Vericel by 99.7% during the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 111,760 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $5,814,000 after buying an additional 55,796 shares during the last quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. grew its holdings in shares of Vericel by 10.9% during the first quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 1,021,695 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $53,149,000 after buying an additional 100,797 shares during the last quarter. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vericel during the first quarter valued at $6,538,000. Finally, Geneva Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Vericel by 43.6% during the first quarter. Geneva Capital Management LLC now owns 679,165 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $35,330,000 after buying an additional 206,202 shares during the last quarter.

Vericel Trading Down 2.5 %

VCEL stock opened at $44.72 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $2.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4,472.00 and a beta of 1.67. Vericel Co. has a 12 month low of $30.18 and a 12 month high of $54.10. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $48.37 and a two-hundred day moving average of $47.39.

Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The biotechnology company reported ($0.10) EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.10). The company had revenue of $52.70 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $52.59 million. Vericel had a net margin of 0.37% and a return on equity of 0.35%. Vericel’s quarterly revenue was up 14.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.11) EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Vericel Co. will post 0.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Vericel

In related news, CEO Dominick Colangelo sold 17,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.40, for a total transaction of $899,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 220,937 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,356,161.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Dominick Colangelo sold 17,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.40, for a total transaction of $899,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 220,937 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,356,161.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Sean C. Flynn sold 1,474 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.84, for a total transaction of $67,568.16. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 487 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,324.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 46,291 shares of company stock worth $2,329,169 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 5.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Vericel from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. StockNews.com raised shares of Vericel from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Stephens increased their target price on shares of Vericel from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. HC Wainwright increased their target price on shares of Vericel from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, BTIG Research lowered their target price on shares of Vericel from $56.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Vericel has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $55.75.

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.