Lazard Asset Management LLC Raises Stock Position in Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL)

Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL - Free Report) by 34.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 22,933 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after acquiring an additional 5,923 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC's holdings in Vericel were worth $1,259,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Meeder Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Vericel by 8.4% in the 4th quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,357 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $129,000 after acquiring an additional 183 shares during the last quarter. Atria Investments Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Vericel by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 7,952 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $437,000 after acquiring an additional 184 shares during the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors boosted its holdings in shares of Vericel by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 6,111 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $336,000 after acquiring an additional 199 shares during the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System boosted its holdings in Vericel by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 23,900 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $1,312,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Avantax Advisory Services Inc. boosted its holdings in Vericel by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 13,803 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $758,000 after buying an additional 234 shares in the last quarter.

Vericel Stock Down 1.1%

Shares of NASDAQ VCEL traded down $0.46 during trading on Friday, hitting $40.92. The company had a trading volume of 300,720 shares, compared to its average volume of 409,371. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $42.09 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $51.03. Vericel Co. has a fifty-two week low of $37.39 and a fifty-two week high of $63.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 682.11 and a beta of 1.31.

Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.23) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.09) by ($0.14). Vericel had a net margin of 1.56% and a return on equity of 1.48%. The company had revenue of $52.60 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $53.86 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned ($0.08) EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Vericel Co. will post 0.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on VCEL. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price target on shares of Vericel from $64.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Stephens reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $67.00 price target on shares of Vericel in a report on Thursday. HC Wainwright reissued a "buy" rating and set a $60.00 price target on shares of Vericel in a report on Friday, February 28th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Vericel from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. Finally, Truist Financial lowered their price target on shares of Vericel from $61.00 to $51.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Vericel currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $61.14.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Dominick Colangelo sold 26,592 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.78, for a total value of $1,217,381.76. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 259,997 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,902,662.66. This trade represents a 9.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 5.20% of the company's stock.

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.