Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Vericel Corporation $VCEL

Key Points

• Conestoga Capital Advisors increased its Vericel stake by 9.3% in the first quarter, buying 208,750 additional shares and bringing its holding to 2.46 million shares worth about $79.2 million.
• Several other institutional investors also boosted positions in Vericel, while insider selling was notable: executive Sean C. Flynn sold 15,000 shares and CFO Joseph Anthony Mara Jr. sold 5,000 shares on June 26.
• Vericel reported stronger-than-expected first-quarter results, beating EPS and revenue estimates, and analysts currently have a mixed view with an overall Hold rating and a consensus price target of $52.50.

Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Vericel Corporation (NASDAQ:VCEL - Free Report) by 9.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,463,312 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after acquiring an additional 208,750 shares during the period. Vericel comprises 1.6% of Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest position. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC owned about 4.84% of Vericel worth $79,245,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Congress Asset Management Co. boosted its stake in shares of Vericel by 11.4% during the fourth quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 1,664,578 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $59,941,000 after purchasing an additional 169,971 shares during the period. Aberdeen Group plc grew its holdings in shares of Vericel by 7.6% in the fourth quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 583,884 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $21,026,000 after purchasing an additional 41,018 shares during the last quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Vericel by 22.5% in the 4th quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC now owns 1,580,967 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $56,931,000 after buying an additional 290,795 shares during the period. Geneva Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Vericel by 9.0% in the 3rd quarter. Geneva Capital Management LLC now owns 1,946,305 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $61,250,000 after buying an additional 161,378 shares during the period. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its holdings in Vericel by 2,152.6% during the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 45,885 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $1,652,000 after buying an additional 43,848 shares in the last quarter.

Insider Activity

In other Vericel news, insider Sean C. Flynn sold 15,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.64, for a total value of $684,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 1,647 shares in the company, valued at $75,169.08. This trade represents a 90.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Joseph Anthony Mara, Jr. sold 5,000 shares of Vericel stock in a transaction on Friday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.75, for a total transaction of $223,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 16,009 shares in the company, valued at $716,402.75. This represents a 23.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders sold 47,732 shares of company stock worth $2,084,167. 7.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Vericel Price Performance

VCEL opened at $45.15 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.31 billion, a PE ratio of 107.50 and a beta of 1.06. The business's 50-day moving average is $36.69 and its two-hundred day moving average is $35.95. Vericel Corporation has a 1 year low of $28.95 and a 1 year high of $46.62.

Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.12) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.15) by $0.03. Vericel had a net margin of 7.35% and a return on equity of 6.41%. The business had revenue of $68.43 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $63.68 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.23) earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 30.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Vericel Corporation will post 0.49 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VCEL has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Truist Financial dropped their target price on shares of Vericel from $48.00 to $42.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $64.00 price target on shares of Vericel in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Wall Street Zen lowered Vericel from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, June 14th. Leerink Partners reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $46.00 price objective on shares of Vericel in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Vericel from a "sell (d)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 16th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Vericel currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $52.50.

Vericel Profile

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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