Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC Sells 7,830 Shares of Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL)

Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC reduced its stake in shares of Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL - Free Report) by 0.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,061,600 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 7,830 shares during the quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC owned about 4.11% of Vericel worth $91,989,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Empowered Funds LLC bought a new stake in shares of Vericel during the fourth quarter worth $261,000. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System raised its holdings 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 worth $1,312,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in Vericel by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 262,932 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $14,438,000 after purchasing an additional 11,074 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC lifted its position in Vericel by 14.4% during the 4th quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 5,013 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $297,000 after purchasing an additional 631 shares during the period. Finally, Truist Financial Corp boosted its stake in shares of Vericel by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 51,827 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $2,846,000 after purchasing an additional 712 shares during the last quarter.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Dominick Colangelo sold 24,850 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 260,354 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,906,229.06. The trade was a 8.71% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 5.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Stephens reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $67.00 price target on shares of Vericel in a research note on Monday. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Vericel from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. HC Wainwright reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $60.00 price target on shares of Vericel in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Truist Financial decreased their price objective on Vericel from $61.00 to $51.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $61.14.

Vericel Stock Performance

VCEL opened at $41.59 on Tuesday. The firm's fifty day moving average is $41.53 and its two-hundred day moving average is $49.50. The firm has a market cap of $2.09 billion, a PE ratio of 693.28 and a beta of 1.33. Vericel Co. has a twelve month low of $37.39 and a twelve month high of $63.00.

Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.23) 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $53.86 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted ($0.08) EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Vericel Co. will post 0.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.

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