Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. Purchases Shares of 62,938 Vericel Corporation $VCEL

Key Points

• Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. has purchased 62,938 shares of Vericel Corporation, amounting to a value of approximately $2.8 million, representing a 0.13% ownership in the company.
• Several institutional investors, including Wellington Management Group and GAMMA Investing LLC, have significantly increased their stakes in Vericel, indicating growing interest from the hedge fund community.
• Analysts have set a consensus rating of "Buy" for Vericel, with an average price target of $60.40, reflecting confidence in the company's growth prospects despite recent fluctuations in stock price.

Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. acquired a new position in Vericel Corporation (NASDAQ:VCEL - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 62,938 shares of the biotechnology company's stock, valued at approximately $2,808,000. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. owned about 0.13% of Vericel as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in Vericel by 119.3% in 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 acquiring an additional 701,064 shares in the last quarter. Geneva Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Vericel by 24.2% during the first quarter. Geneva Capital Management LLC now owns 1,365,744 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $60,939,000 after purchasing an additional 265,956 shares in the last quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Vericel by 12.4% during 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 purchasing an additional 158,470 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vericel in the 1st quarter worth $5,751,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Vericel by 5,916.5% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 129,175 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $5,764,000 after buying an additional 127,028 shares during the last quarter.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on VCEL shares. Stephens reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $67.00 price target on shares of Vericel in a research note on Monday, June 16th. Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their price target on Vericel from $61.00 to $58.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, Vericel currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $60.40.

Vericel Stock Performance

Vericel stock opened at $32.54 on Wednesday. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $37.26 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $41.29. The company has a market cap of $1.64 billion, a PE ratio of 271.19 and a beta of 1.33. Vericel Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $32.11 and a fifty-two week high of $63.00.

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

Vericel Company Profile

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.

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