GW&K Investment Management LLC Acquires 290,795 Shares of Vericel Corporation $VCEL

Key Points

• GW&K Investment Management boosted its Vericel stake by 22.5% in the fourth quarter, buying 290,795 additional shares and bringing its total holding to 1,580,967 shares valued at about $56.9 million.
• Vericel shares were up 3.5% to $37.03, while the company’s latest quarterly results beat expectations with EPS of -$0.12 versus -$0.15 expected and revenue of $68.43 million, up 30.1% year over year.
• Analysts remain generally constructive on the stock, with a Moderate Buy consensus and an average price target of $55.40, though some firms recently trimmed targets and one rating was downgraded.

GW&K Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Vericel Corporation (NASDAQ:VCEL - Free Report) by 22.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,580,967 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after purchasing an additional 290,795 shares during the quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC owned 3.13% of Vericel worth $56,931,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Vericel by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,584,006 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $129,060,000 after purchasing an additional 68,368 shares in the last quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Vericel by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,254,562 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $81,187,000 after acquiring an additional 79,278 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Vericel by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 2,222,107 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $80,018,000 after acquiring an additional 11,178 shares during the period. Geneva Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Vericel by 9.0% in the third quarter. Geneva Capital Management LLC now owns 1,946,305 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $61,250,000 after acquiring an additional 161,378 shares during the period. Finally, Congress Asset Management Co. lifted its holdings in Vericel by 11.4% in 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 acquiring an additional 169,971 shares during the period.

Vericel Trading Up 3.5%

Shares of VCEL opened at $37.03 on Wednesday. The business's 50 day moving average is $34.43 and its 200 day moving average is $35.68. The company has a market capitalization of $1.89 billion, a PE ratio of 88.17 and a beta of 1.12. Vericel Corporation has a 12-month low of $28.95 and a 12-month high of $45.97.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VCEL has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Truist Financial lowered their target price on Vericel from $48.00 to $42.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. 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. HC Wainwright reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $64.00 target price on shares of Vericel in a report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded Vericel from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "sell (d)" rating in a report on Monday, June 1st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Vericel has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $55.40.

Insider Activity at Vericel

In other news, insider Jonathan Mark Hopper sold 3,472 shares of Vericel stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the insider owned 75,556 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,644,460. The trade was a 4.39% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 7.60% of the company's stock.

Vericel Company 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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