Ameriprise Financial Inc. Decreases Stock Position in Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL)

Ameriprise Financial Inc. decreased its position in Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL - Free Report) by 28.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 319,119 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 124,122 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. owned about 0.65% of Vericel worth $17,523,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System boosted its position in Vericel by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 23,900 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $1,312,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vericel during the fourth quarter worth about $280,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Vericel in the fourth quarter worth about $956,000. Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new position in Vericel during the 4th quarter valued at about $261,000. Finally, KBC Group NV increased its holdings in Vericel by 82.5% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,707 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $149,000 after purchasing an additional 1,224 shares during the period.

Vericel Trading Down 0.6%

VCEL traded down $0.26 during trading on Thursday, reaching $40.82. The stock had a trading volume of 12,601 shares, compared to its average volume of 408,121. The company has a market capitalization of $2.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 682.61 and a beta of 1.31. The stock's 50 day moving average is $42.32 and its two-hundred day moving average is $51.05. Vericel Co. has a one year low of $37.39 and a one year high of $63.00.

Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.23) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.09) by ($0.14). Vericel had a return on equity of 1.48% and a net margin of 1.56%. The business had revenue of $52.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $53.86 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned ($0.08) earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Vericel Co. will post 0.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on VCEL. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on Vericel from $61.00 to $51.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. Stephens reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $67.00 price target on shares of Vericel in a research note on Thursday. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price objective on shares of Vericel from $64.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $60.00 target price on shares of Vericel in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Vericel from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $61.14.

Insider Activity at Vericel

In related news, CEO Dominick Colangelo sold 24,850 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.89, for a total value of $1,040,966.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 260,354 shares in the company, valued at $10,906,229.06. The trade was a 8.71% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 5.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.