Rafferty Asset Management LLC Lowers Stake in Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL)

Rafferty Asset Management LLC decreased its position in Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL - Free Report) by 22.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor 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 quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in VCEL. Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in shares of Vericel by 145.4% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 111,527 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $4,712,000 after acquiring an additional 66,082 shares in the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vericel in the fourth quarter valued at about $280,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Vericel by 826.6% in the fourth quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,511 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $138,000 after acquiring an additional 2,240 shares in the last quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Vericel by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC now owns 43,781 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $2,404,000 after acquiring an additional 489 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in shares of Vericel by 82.5% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,707 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $149,000 after acquiring an additional 1,224 shares in the last quarter.

Vericel Trading Up 0.1%

VCEL stock opened at $42.54 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $2.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 709.12 and a beta of 1.31. Vericel Co. has a 52 week low of $37.39 and a 52 week high of $63.00. The company's 50-day moving average price is $42.44 and its 200 day moving average price is $51.17.

Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.23) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.09) by ($0.14). The company had revenue of $52.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $53.86 million. Vericel had a return on equity of 1.48% and a net margin of 1.56%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.08) EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Vericel Co. will post 0.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on VCEL shares. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their target price on shares of Vericel from $64.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $60.00 target price on shares of Vericel in a report on Friday, February 28th. Truist Financial lowered 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. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Vericel from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. One 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 stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $60.86.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Vericel news, CEO Dominick Colangelo sold 24,850 shares of Vericel stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.89, for a total transaction of $1,040,966.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 260,354 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,906,229.06. The trade was a 8.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 5.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.

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