Congress Asset Management Co. Buys 22,579 Shares of Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL)

Congress Asset Management Co. boosted its stake in shares of Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL - Free Report) by 1.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,476,718 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after purchasing an additional 22,579 shares during the period. Congress Asset Management Co. owned about 2.95% of Vericel worth $65,891,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in Vericel by 119.3% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,288,921 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $70,775,000 after purchasing an additional 701,064 shares in the last quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Vericel by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC now owns 1,273,964 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $69,953,000 after purchasing an additional 30,180 shares in the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Vericel by 66.3% during the fourth quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 1,258,416 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $69,100,000 after purchasing an additional 501,736 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Vericel by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,166,115 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $64,046,000 after purchasing an additional 12,062 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its position in shares of Vericel by 25.4% in the fourth quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 1,122,373 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $61,630,000 after acquiring an additional 227,675 shares in the last quarter.

Vericel Price Performance

Shares of VCEL stock traded down $0.10 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $43.30. The stock had a trading volume of 239,384 shares, compared to its average volume of 418,173. Vericel Co. has a one year low of $37.39 and a one year high of $63.00. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $41.26 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $50.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 721.79 and a beta of 1.33.

Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL - Get Free Report) last issued its 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 firm had revenue of $52.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $53.86 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted ($0.08) earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Vericel Co. will post 0.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Vericel

In other Vericel news, CEO Dominick Colangelo sold 26,592 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.78, for a total transaction of $1,217,381.76. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 259,997 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,902,662.66. The trade was a 9.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 5.20% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on Vericel from $61.00 to $51.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 11th. HC Wainwright restated a "buy" rating and issued a $60.00 price objective on shares of Vericel in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Stephens restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $67.00 price objective on shares of Vericel in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Vericel from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $61.14.

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.