Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC Buys New Stake in Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL)

Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 19,038 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock, valued at approximately $990,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. MCF Advisors LLC grew its position in Vericel by 86.1% during the first quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 482 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 223 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank increased its stake in Vericel by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 89,500 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $4,656,000 after buying an additional 400 shares during the period. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI acquired a new position in Vericel in the 1st quarter worth $27,000. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp boosted its position in Vericel by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 41,768 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $2,173,000 after buying an additional 541 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Aigen Investment Management LP grew its stake in shares of Vericel by 8.7% during the fourth quarter. Aigen Investment Management LP now owns 8,326 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $296,000 after acquiring an additional 667 shares in the last quarter.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vericel

In other Vericel news, insider Sean C. Flynn sold 1,474 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.84, for a total value of $67,568.16. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 487 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,324.08. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, CEO Dominick Colangelo sold 17,500 shares of Vericel stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.12, for a total transaction of $772,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 220,752 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,739,578.24. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 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 value of $67,568.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 487 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,324.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 43,791 shares of company stock valued at $1,949,394 in the last 90 days. 5.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Vericel from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, June 21st. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $54.00 price target on shares of Vericel in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. TD Cowen assumed coverage on Vericel in a report on Thursday, June 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $55.00 target price on the stock. Finally, HC Wainwright boosted their price target on Vericel from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $48.17.

Vericel Trading Up 1.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ VCEL traded up $0.82 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $49.32. The company had a trading volume of 85,730 shares, compared to its average volume of 473,314. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $46.55 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $45.39. The stock has a market cap of $2.40 billion, a PE ratio of -4,845.15 and a beta of 1.70. Vericel Co. has a 1-year low of $30.18 and a 1-year high of $53.05.

Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 8th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.08) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.11) by $0.03. Vericel had a net margin of 0.22% and a return on equity of 0.21%. The company had revenue of $51.28 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $49.07 million. During the same period last year, the company posted ($0.16) earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 25.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Vericel Co. will post 0.11 EPS 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.