Lisanti Capital Growth LLC Buys 13,585 Shares of Vericel Corporation (NASDAQ:VCEL)

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

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. acquired a new position in Vericel during the 4th quarter worth $57,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Vericel by 511.1% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,265 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $70,000 after purchasing an additional 1,058 shares during the period. Meeder Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Vericel by 8.4% during the 4th quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,357 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $129,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Vericel by 34.8% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,895 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $129,000 after purchasing an additional 748 shares during the period. Finally, Xponance Inc. acquired a new stake in Vericel in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $214,000.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vericel

In related news, CEO Dominick Colangelo sold 24,850 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $10,906,229.06. This trade represents a 8.71% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 7.20% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Wall Street Zen lowered Vericel from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. Truist Financial cut their target price on shares of Vericel from $61.00 to $51.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Stephens reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $67.00 price target on shares of Vericel in a report on Monday, June 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $61.14.

Vericel Stock Performance

NASDAQ VCEL traded up $0.82 on Monday, reaching $42.55. The company had a trading volume of 684,938 shares, compared to its average volume of 415,546. The company's fifty day moving average is $41.52 and its 200-day moving average is $48.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 1,418.81 and a beta of 1.33. Vericel Corporation has a 1-year low of $37.39 and a 1-year high of $63.00.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.09) by ($0.14). The business had revenue of $52.60 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $53.86 million. Vericel had a net margin of 1.25% and a return on equity of 1.09%. Vericel's revenue for the quarter was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned ($0.08) earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Vericel Corporation will post 0.14 earnings per share for the current 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.