BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. Purchases 98,005 Shares of Vericel Corporation $VCEL

Key Points

• BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. increased its stake in Vericel Corporation by 9.3%, acquiring 98,005 shares, bringing its total to approximately 1,155,040 shares valued at $51.5 million.
• Vericel's stock opened at $36.28, with a 52-week range of $33.09 to $63.00, reflecting a market capitalization of $1.83 billion.
• Analysts have mixed ratings on Vericel, with one downgrade to “sell” while others maintain “buy” ratings, resulting in an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a target price of $60.33.

BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. boosted its position in Vericel Corporation (NASDAQ:VCEL - Free Report) by 9.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,155,040 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after buying an additional 98,005 shares during the quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. owned approximately 2.30% of Vericel worth $51,537,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of VCEL. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Vericel by 2.7% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 270,154 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $12,054,000 after purchasing an additional 7,222 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Vericel by 15.6% during the first quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 204,510 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $9,125,000 after purchasing an additional 27,526 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Vericel by 34.8% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,895 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $129,000 after purchasing an additional 748 shares in the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN increased its stake in Vericel by 11.8% in the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 69,975 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $3,842,000 after buying an additional 7,363 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC lifted its position in Vericel by 10.1% during the 1st quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 65,384 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $2,917,000 after buying an additional 5,988 shares in the last quarter.

Vericel Stock Performance

Shares of VCEL stock opened at $36.28 on Monday. Vericel Corporation has a 52-week low of $33.09 and a 52-week high of $63.00. The stock has a market cap of $1.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 302.36 and a beta of 1.27. The firm's 50-day moving average is $39.72 and its 200-day moving average is $43.84.

Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The biotechnology company reported ($0.01) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.04) by $0.03. Vericel had a return on equity of 2.47% and a net margin of 2.85%. The firm had revenue of $63.24 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $64.61 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned ($0.10) earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 20.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Vericel Corporation will post 0.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Vericel from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their target price on Vericel from $61.00 to $58.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Stephens restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $67.00 price target on shares of Vericel in a research note on Monday, June 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Vericel has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $60.33.

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.

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