Invesco Ltd. Acquires 35,345 Shares of Vericel Corporation $VCEL

Key Points

• Invesco Ltd. acquired an additional 35,345 shares of Vericel Corporation during the first quarter, increasing its total holdings to approximately 2.27 million shares valued at $101.4 million.
• Vericel's quarterly earnings report indicated an earnings per share (EPS) of ($0.01), surpassing the consensus estimate of ($0.04), with a year-over-year revenue growth of 20.1%.
• Analysts currently show a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" for Vericel, with a price target averaging about $60.33, despite some firms downgrading their ratings.

Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Vericel Corporation (NASDAQ:VCEL - Free Report) by 1.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,273,494 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after acquiring an additional 35,345 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. owned 4.53% of Vericel worth $101,443,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of Vericel by 119.3% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,288,921 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $70,775,000 after buying an additional 701,064 shares during the period. Champlain Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vericel in the 4th quarter valued at $34,233,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Vericel in the 4th quarter valued at $28,126,000. Geneva Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Vericel by 24.2% in the 1st quarter. Geneva Capital Management LLC now owns 1,365,744 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $60,939,000 after buying an additional 265,956 shares during the period. Finally, GW&K Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Vericel by 12.4% in the 1st quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC now owns 1,432,434 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $63,915,000 after buying an additional 158,470 shares during the period.

Vericel Stock Up 0.2%

VCEL traded up $0.08 during trading on Thursday, hitting $35.44. The company had a trading volume of 670,588 shares, compared to its average volume of 591,610. The company has a market capitalization of $1.79 billion, a PE ratio of 295.36 and a beta of 1.27. Vericel Corporation has a one year low of $33.09 and a one year high of $63.00. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $39.07 and its 200 day moving average price is $43.41.

Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The biotechnology company reported ($0.01) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.04) by $0.03. Vericel had a net margin of 2.85% and a return on equity of 2.47%. The firm had revenue of $63.24 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $64.61 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.10) EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 20.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Vericel Corporation will post 0.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on VCEL. Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their price target on shares of Vericel from $61.00 to $58.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 1st. Stephens reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $67.00 price objective on shares of Vericel in a research report on Monday, June 16th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Vericel from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $60.33.

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.