Rafferty Asset Management LLC Has $2.29 Million Holdings in Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL)

Rafferty Asset Management LLC decreased its position in shares of Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL - Free Report) by 22.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 41,688 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 12,026 shares during the period. Rafferty Asset Management LLC owned about 0.08% of Vericel worth $2,289,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VCEL. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in Vericel by 119.3% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,288,921 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $70,775,000 after buying an additional 701,064 shares during the period. Champlain Investment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Vericel during the 4th quarter worth $34,233,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Vericel during the 4th quarter worth $28,126,000. William Blair Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Vericel by 66.3% during the 4th quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 1,258,416 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $69,100,000 after buying an additional 501,736 shares during the period. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. increased its stake in Vericel by 25.4% during the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 1,122,373 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $61,630,000 after buying an additional 227,675 shares during the period.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vericel

In other Vericel news, CEO Dominick Colangelo sold 26,592 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.78, for a total transaction of $1,217,381.76. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 259,997 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,902,662.66. The trade was a 9.28% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 5.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on VCEL shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Vericel from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Truist Financial dropped their target price on shares of Vericel from $61.00 to $51.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. HC Wainwright reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $60.00 target price on shares of Vericel in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their target price on shares of Vericel from $64.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $67.00 price target on shares of Vericel in a report on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $61.14.

Vericel Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VCEL traded down $0.46 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $40.92. The company's stock had a trading volume of 300,720 shares, compared to its average volume of 409,371. Vericel Co. has a 1-year low of $37.39 and a 1-year high of $63.00. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $42.09 and its 200-day moving average price is $51.03. The firm has a market cap of $2.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 682.11 and a beta of 1.31.

Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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). The business had revenue of $52.60 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $53.86 million. Vericel had a net margin of 1.56% and a return on equity of 1.48%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted ($0.08) earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Vericel Co. will post 0.14 earnings per share 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.