Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC Acquires 79,278 Shares of Vericel Corporation $VCEL

Key Points

• Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in Vericel by 79,278 shares in Q4, bringing its holding to 2,254,562 shares (~4.46%) valued at about $81.19 million.
• Wall Street sentiment is a Moderate Buy with a consensus target price of $55.40; five analysts rate VCEL a Buy and three rate it a Hold, and several firms recently adjusted targets (HC Wainwright to $64).
• Vericel reported Q4 EPS of $0.45 (meeting estimates) and revenue of $92.92 million, a 23.3% increase year-over-year.

Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Vericel Corporation (NASDAQ:VCEL - Free Report) by 3.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,254,562 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after purchasing an additional 79,278 shares during the period. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC owned about 4.46% of Vericel worth $81,187,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Huntington National Bank increased its holdings in shares of Vericel by 51.3% in the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 805 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 273 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System increased its holdings in shares of Vericel by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 14,882 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $468,000 after purchasing an additional 277 shares in the last quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Vericel by 13.7% in the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 2,937 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $125,000 after purchasing an additional 353 shares in the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue increased its holdings in shares of Vericel by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 25,744 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $927,000 after purchasing an additional 353 shares in the last quarter. Finally, California State Teachers Retirement System increased its holdings in shares of Vericel by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 45,404 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $1,932,000 after purchasing an additional 382 shares in the last quarter.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on VCEL shares. HC Wainwright lifted their target price on Vericel from $60.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 27th. Leerink Partners reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $46.00 target price on shares of Vericel in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. Wall Street Zen raised Vericel from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, March 28th. Finally, Truist Financial cut their price objective on Vericel from $48.00 to $42.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Vericel currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $55.40.

Vericel Price Performance

Shares of VCEL opened at $34.73 on Friday. Vericel Corporation has a one year low of $28.95 and a one year high of $45.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 112.03 and a beta of 1.20. The business has a fifty day moving average of $34.04 and a 200 day moving average of $36.13.

Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 26th. The biotechnology company reported $0.45 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.45. Vericel had a return on equity of 5.17% and a net margin of 5.98%.The company had revenue of $92.92 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $92.66 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.38 earnings per share. Vericel's revenue was up 23.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Vericel Corporation will post 0.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Vericel

In related news, insider Jonathan Mark Hopper sold 3,472 shares of Vericel stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.00, for a total value of $121,520.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 75,556 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,644,460. The trade was a 4.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 7.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Vericel

Vericel Corporation is a biotechnology company specializing in the development, manufacturing and commercialization of cell-based therapies for patients with severe diseases and conditions. The company's expertise lies in regenerative medicine, where it harnesses the power of autologous cell processing to create products designed to restore function and promote healing in damaged tissues.

Vericel currently markets two FDA-approved therapies. MACI® (autologous cultured chondrocytes on porcine collagen membrane) is indicated for the repair of symptomatic cartilage defects of the knee in adult patients.

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