New York State Common Retirement Fund Increases Stock Position in Vericel Corporation (NASDAQ:VCEL)

New York State Common Retirement Fund boosted its holdings in shares of Vericel Corporation (NASDAQ:VCEL - Free Report) by 0.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 862,331 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after acquiring an additional 7,429 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned approximately 1.72% of Vericel worth $38,477,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. acquired a new position in Vericel in the 4th quarter worth $57,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Vericel by 8.4% in 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 period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Vericel by 34.8% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,895 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $129,000 after purchasing an additional 748 shares during the period. Xponance Inc. acquired a new position in Vericel in the 4th quarter worth $214,000. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp acquired a new position in Vericel in the 4th quarter worth $215,000.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on VCEL shares. Stephens reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $67.00 target price on shares of Vericel in a report on Monday, June 16th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Vericel from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. Finally, Truist Financial dropped their target price 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 equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Vericel presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $61.14.

Vericel Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VCEL traded down $0.72 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $35.54. 311,373 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 425,641. The company has a market cap of $1.79 billion, a PE ratio of 1,187.53 and a beta of 1.32. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $41.67 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $47.03. Vericel Corporation has a 1-year low of $35.29 and a 1-year high of $63.00.

Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.23) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $53.86 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.08) earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Vericel Corporation will post 0.14 EPS for the current fiscal 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.