Public Sector Pension Investment Board Purchases 33,542 Shares of Vericel Corporation $VCEL

Key Points

• The Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its holdings in Vericel Corporation by 27.3% during the first quarter, acquiring a total of 156,489 shares valued at approximately $6.98 million.
• Vericel's recent earnings report showed an earnings per share (EPS) of ($0.01), beating estimates and reflecting a revenue increase of 20.1% compared to the previous year.
• Analysts have mixed views on Vericel, with one brokerage downgrading it to "sell," while others maintain "buy" ratings, resulting in an average target price of $60.33.

Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its holdings in Vericel Corporation (NASDAQ:VCEL - Free Report) by 27.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 156,489 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after purchasing an additional 33,542 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board owned about 0.31% of Vericel worth $6,983,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of Vericel in the 1st quarter worth approximately $5,751,000. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Vericel by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,273,494 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $101,443,000 after purchasing an additional 35,345 shares during the period. Global Alpha Capital Management Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Vericel by 91.5% in the 1st quarter. Global Alpha Capital Management Ltd. now owns 47,337 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $2,112,000 after purchasing an additional 22,617 shares during the period. Cynosure Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Vericel by 32.7% in the 1st quarter. Cynosure Group LLC now owns 6,615 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $295,000 after purchasing an additional 1,629 shares during the period. Finally, Townsquare Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Vericel by 12.2% in the 1st quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 67,248 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $3,001,000 after purchasing an additional 7,312 shares during the period.

Vericel Stock Performance

NASDAQ VCEL traded down $0.15 on Tuesday, hitting $36.17. 245,127 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 500,460. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $39.57 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $43.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 301.44 and a beta of 1.27. Vericel Corporation has a 52-week low of $33.09 and a 52-week high of $63.00.

Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL - Get Free Report) last announced 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 analysts' expectations of $64.61 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.10) earnings per share. Vericel's revenue was up 20.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Vericel Corporation will post 0.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

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.