GW&K Investment Management LLC Sells 124,377 Shares of Vericel Corporation $VCEL

Key Points

• GW&K Investment Management LLC cut its stake in Vericel by 8.8%, selling 124,377 shares in the quarter and now holds 1,290,172 shares (~2.55%) valued at about $40.6 million.
• Vericel's most recent quarter met EPS expectations at $0.45 and reported revenue of $92.92 million, up 23.3% year-over-year with a net margin of 5.98%.
• Sell-side analysts maintain a "Moderate Buy" consensus (four Buys, three Holds) with an average price target of $58.50, while individual targets range roughly from $45 to $64.

GW&K Investment Management LLC cut its stake in shares of Vericel Corporation (NASDAQ:VCEL - Free Report) by 8.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 1,290,172 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 124,377 shares during the quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC owned approximately 2.55% of Vericel worth $40,602,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. AQR Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vericel during the 1st quarter worth about $242,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its stake in Vericel by 6.2% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 31,445 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $1,403,000 after buying an additional 1,847 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Vericel by 13.6% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 371,486 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $16,576,000 after buying an additional 44,333 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its holdings in shares of Vericel by 9.0% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 123,028 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $5,490,000 after buying an additional 10,191 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC bought a new position in shares of Vericel in the second quarter valued at approximately $60,000.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded Vericel from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Sunday, January 25th. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on Vericel from $50.00 to $45.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. HC Wainwright raised their target price on Vericel from $60.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Vericel in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of Vericel from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 12th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Vericel presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $58.50.

Vericel Stock Up 1.7%

Vericel stock opened at $34.96 on Thursday. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $36.95 and its 200 day simple moving average is $36.10. The stock has a market cap of $1.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 112.77 and a beta of 1.22. Vericel Corporation has a 12-month low of $29.24 and a 12-month high of $51.93.

Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The biotechnology company reported $0.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.45. The company had revenue of $92.92 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $92.66 million. Vericel had a net margin of 5.98% and a return on equity of 5.17%. The company's revenue was up 23.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.38 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Vericel Corporation will post 0.14 EPS for the current year.

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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