Fifth Third Bancorp Purchases 255,465 Shares of Vericel Corporation $VCEL

Key Points

• Fifth Third Bancorp dramatically increased its Vericel stake in the first quarter, buying 255,465 additional shares and lifting its holding to 256,688 shares worth about $8.26 million.
• Vericel reported better-than-expected quarterly results, posting a smaller-than-expected loss of $0.12 per share on revenue of $68.43 million, with revenue up 30.1% year over year.
• The stock has recently moved higher, opening at $46.72 and trading near its 52-week high, while analysts currently have a consensus rating of Hold with an average price target of $52.50.

Fifth Third Bancorp raised its position in shares of Vericel Corporation (NASDAQ:VCEL - Free Report) by 20,888.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 256,688 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after acquiring an additional 255,465 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp owned approximately 0.50% of Vericel worth $8,258,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of VCEL. State of Alaska Department of Revenue grew its holdings in shares of Vericel by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 25,744 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $927,000 after purchasing an additional 353 shares in the last quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. raised its stake in Vericel by 13.7% during the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 2,937 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $125,000 after purchasing an additional 353 shares in the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System raised its stake in Vericel by 0.8% during the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 45,404 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $1,932,000 after purchasing an additional 382 shares in the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lifted its position in Vericel by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 11,698 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $421,000 after purchasing an additional 410 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Portside Wealth Group LLC lifted its position in Vericel by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC now owns 9,126 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $329,000 after purchasing an additional 438 shares during the last quarter.

Vericel Stock Up 1.4%

Shares of VCEL opened at $46.72 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $39.05 and a 200 day moving average of $36.68. The company has a market cap of $2.39 billion, a PE ratio of 111.24 and a beta of 1.07. Vericel Corporation has a 52-week low of $28.95 and a 52-week high of $48.33.

Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.12) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $63.68 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted ($0.23) earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 30.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Vericel Corporation will post 0.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Vericel news, insider Jonathan Siegal sold 2,732 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.90, for a total value of $122,666.80. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 886 shares of the company's stock, valued at $39,781.40. This trade represents a 75.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Sean C. Flynn sold 15,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.21, for a total transaction of $603,150.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 1,647 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $66,225.87. The trade was a 90.11% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 47,732 shares of company stock valued at $2,084,167 in the last quarter. 7.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on VCEL. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Vericel from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, June 14th. Truist Financial lowered their price target on shares of Vericel from $48.00 to $42.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. HC Wainwright reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $64.00 price target on shares of Vericel in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Vericel from a "sell (d)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 16th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $52.50.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding VCEL? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Vericel Corporation (NASDAQ:VCEL - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.