Lazard Asset Management LLC Purchases 5,923 Shares of Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL)

Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL - Free Report) by 34.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 22,933 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after acquiring an additional 5,923 shares during the quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC's holdings in Vericel were worth $1,259,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. lifted its position in shares of Vericel by 227.9% during the fourth quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 75,470 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $4,144,000 after buying an additional 52,453 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG lifted its position in shares of Vericel by 32.1% during the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 52,999 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $2,910,000 after buying an additional 12,890 shares during the last quarter. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Vericel during the fourth quarter valued at about $291,000. Captrust Financial Advisors lifted its position in shares of Vericel by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 6,111 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $336,000 after buying an additional 199 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Comerica Bank lifted its position in shares of Vericel by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 193,610 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $10,631,000 after buying an additional 1,635 shares during the last quarter.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price target on shares of Vericel from $64.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Vericel from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. Truist Financial cut their price objective 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. Finally, HC Wainwright restated a "buy" rating and set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Vericel in a report on Friday, February 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $60.86.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Dominick Colangelo sold 26,592 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.78, for a total transaction of $1,217,381.76. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 259,997 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,902,662.66. This trade represents a 9.28% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 5.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Vericel Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of NASDAQ:VCEL opened at $42.54 on Tuesday. Vericel Co. has a twelve month low of $37.39 and a twelve month high of $63.00. The company's 50 day moving average is $42.44 and its 200 day moving average is $51.17. The company has a market cap of $2.14 billion, a PE ratio of 709.12 and a beta of 1.31.

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

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.