Vericel Corporation $VCEL Shares Acquired by LPL Financial LLC

Key Points

• LPL Financial LLC increased its stake in Vericel Corporation by 25%, owning approximately 70,855 shares valued at $2.92 million as of the latest reporting period.
• Vericel reported earnings of ($0.01) per share for the quarter, beating estimates, with revenues of $63.24 million reflecting a year-over-year increase of 20.1%.
• Analysts currently rate Vericel as a Moderate Buy with a consensus target price of $60.33, following various rating changes by multiple brokerages.

LPL Financial LLC grew its position in shares of Vericel Corporation (NASDAQ:VCEL - Free Report) by 25.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 70,855 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after purchasing an additional 14,181 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC owned approximately 0.14% of Vericel worth $2,921,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Captrust Financial Advisors raised its stake in shares of Vericel by 3.4% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Vericel by 8.6% in the fourth quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 5,137 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $282,000 after acquiring an additional 405 shares in the last quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC raised its stake in Vericel by 9.9% in the first quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC now owns 6,546 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $292,000 after buying an additional 591 shares in the last quarter. Mariner LLC raised its stake in Vericel by 7.7% in the fourth quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 9,209 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $506,000 after buying an additional 659 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Vericel by 34.8% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,895 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $129,000 after buying an additional 748 shares in the last quarter.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VCEL has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Wall Street Zen cut Vericel from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Canaccord Genuity Group cut 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. Finally, Stephens restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $67.00 price target on shares of Vericel in a research note on Monday, June 16th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $60.33.

Vericel Stock Performance

Shares of VCEL stock traded up $0.08 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $35.44. 670,588 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 591,610. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $39.07 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $43.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 295.36 and a beta of 1.27. Vericel Corporation has a 12-month low of $33.09 and a 12-month high of $63.00.

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

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.