Vericel Corporation (NASDAQ:VCEL) Shares Bought by Lisanti Capital Growth LLC

Lisanti Capital Growth LLC raised its position in Vericel Corporation (NASDAQ:VCEL - Free Report) by 53.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 39,015 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after purchasing an additional 13,585 shares during the quarter. Lisanti Capital Growth LLC owned 0.08% of Vericel worth $1,741,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in VCEL. Congress Asset Management Co. boosted its holdings in Vericel by 1.6% during the 1st quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 1,476,718 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $65,891,000 after acquiring an additional 22,579 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of Vericel by 119.3% during 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. William Blair Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Vericel by 66.3% in the fourth quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 1,258,416 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $69,100,000 after purchasing an additional 501,736 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Vericel by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,166,115 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $64,046,000 after purchasing an additional 12,062 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. raised its position in Vericel by 25.4% during the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 1,122,373 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $61,630,000 after purchasing an additional 227,675 shares in the last quarter.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Dominick Colangelo sold 24,850 shares of Vericel stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.89, for a total value of $1,040,966.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 260,354 shares in the company, valued at $10,906,229.06. This trade represents a 8.71% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 7.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Vericel Stock Performance

VCEL traded down $0.14 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $41.46. The stock had a trading volume of 405,371 shares, compared to its average volume of 416,338. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $41.60 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $48.37. Vericel Corporation has a twelve month low of $37.39 and a twelve month high of $63.00. The company has a market capitalization of $2.09 billion, a PE ratio of 1,382.46 and a beta of 1.32.

Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.23) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.09) by ($0.14). Vericel had a return on equity of 1.09% and a net margin of 1.25%. The business had revenue of $52.60 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $53.86 million. During the same period in the previous 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, equities research analysts anticipate that Vericel Corporation will post 0.14 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on VCEL. Stephens restated an "overweight" rating and set a $67.00 price target on shares of Vericel in a research note on Monday, June 16th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Vericel from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Finally, Truist Financial dropped their target price on Vericel from $61.00 to $51.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $61.14.

Vericel 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.