MAI Capital Management Reduces Stock Position in Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL)

MAI Capital Management reduced its position in shares of Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL) by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 11,625 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 340 shares during the quarter. MAI Capital Management’s holdings in Vericel were worth $491,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Vericel by 4,126.7% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 634 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 619 shares during the period. CWM LLC lifted its stake in shares of Vericel by 319.0% during the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 662 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 504 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Vericel by 48.1% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,247 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 405 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of Vericel by 22.2% in the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 1,773 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $77,000 after purchasing an additional 322 shares during the period. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in Vericel by 9.7% in the second quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,484 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $114,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares during the last quarter.

Vericel Trading Up 4.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ VCEL opened at $59.11 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $46.13 and a 200 day moving average price of $47.02. Vericel Co. has a 12-month low of $32.31 and a 12-month high of $60.15. The company has a market cap of $2.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 985.33 and a beta of 1.66.

Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.02) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.05) by $0.03. Vericel had a return on equity of 1.48% and a net margin of 1.56%. The business had revenue of $57.91 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $55.32 million. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Vericel Co. will post 0.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Vericel

In other Vericel news, Director Steven C. Gilman sold 5,833 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.35, for a total transaction of $235,361.55. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 11,000 shares in the company, valued at $443,850. This trade represents 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 company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.38, for a total value of $724,150.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 220,937 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,142,373.06. The trade was a 7.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 29,166 shares of company stock valued at $1,200,764. 5.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Vericel from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Canaccord Genuity Group initiated coverage on shares of Vericel in a research report on Friday, August 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $57.00 price target for the company. Stephens lifted their price target on shares of Vericel from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. TD Cowen upped their price objective on Vericel from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $60.00 target price on shares of Vericel in a report on Tuesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $58.14.

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.