Nuveen LLC Buys Shares of 128,899 Vericel Corporation $VCEL

Key Points

• Nuveen LLC has acquired a new stake in Vericel Corporation by purchasing 128,899 shares valued at approximately $5.75 million.
• Various institutional investors, including Mariner LLC and Dimensional Fund Advisors, have also increased their stakes in Vericel, indicating growing institutional confidence.
• Vericel's stock has recently been downgraded from a "hold" to a "sell" rating by Wall Street Zen, although it still maintains a consensus rating of "Buy" with an average target price of $60.33.

Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in Vericel Corporation (NASDAQ:VCEL - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 128,899 shares of the biotechnology company's stock, valued at approximately $5,751,000. Nuveen LLC owned about 0.26% of Vericel at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Captrust Financial Advisors lifted its position in 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 buying an additional 199 shares during the last quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC lifted its position 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 during the last quarter. Mariner LLC lifted its position 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 during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE lifted its position in Vericel by 29.9% in the first quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 3,071 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $137,000 after buying an additional 706 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position 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 during the last quarter.

Vericel Stock Performance

Vericel stock remained flat at $35.89 during mid-day trading on Thursday. 379,485 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 637,485. The stock has a market cap of $1.81 billion, a PE ratio of 299.11 and a beta of 1.27. The business has a 50-day moving average of $38.50 and a two-hundred day moving average of $42.60. Vericel Corporation has a one year low of $33.09 and a one year high of $63.00.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Vericel from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. Stephens restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $67.00 price objective on shares of Vericel in a report on Monday, June 16th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their price objective on shares of Vericel from $61.00 to $58.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 1st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $60.40.

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.