Vericel Corporation (NASDAQ:VCEL) Shares Purchased by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in Vericel Corporation (NASDAQ:VCEL - Free Report) by 2.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 270,154 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after purchasing an additional 7,222 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.54% of Vericel worth $12,054,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Meeder Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Vericel by 8.4% during the fourth quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,357 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $129,000 after buying an additional 183 shares during the period. Atria Investments Inc grew its position in Vericel by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 7,952 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $437,000 after buying an additional 184 shares during the period. Captrust Financial Advisors grew its position in Vericel by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 6,111 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $336,000 after buying an additional 199 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. grew its position in Vericel by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 13,803 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $758,000 after buying an additional 234 shares during the period. Finally, Summit Investment Advisors Inc. grew its position in Vericel by 8.6% during the fourth quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 5,137 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $282,000 after buying an additional 405 shares during the period.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on VCEL. Stephens restated an "overweight" rating and set a $67.00 target price on shares of Vericel in a research report on Monday, June 16th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Vericel from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Finally, Truist Financial lowered their price target on shares of 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 issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $61.14.

Vericel Trading Down 2.3%

Shares of VCEL stock traded down $0.86 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $36.26. The company's stock had a trading volume of 616,311 shares, compared to its average volume of 426,033. The business has a fifty day moving average of $41.67 and a 200-day moving average of $47.03. The stock has a market cap of $1.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 1,209.07 and a beta of 1.32. Vericel Corporation has a twelve month low of $35.96 and a twelve month high of $63.00.

Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results 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). Vericel had a return on equity of 1.09% and a net margin of 1.25%. The firm had revenue of $52.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $53.86 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($0.08) EPS. The firm's revenue was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities 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.