Rice Hall James & Associates LLC Makes New Investment in Vericel Corporation $VCEL

Key Points

• Rice Hall James & Associates acquired 138,840 Vericel shares worth approximately $6.18 million, representing about 0.27% of the biotechnology company.
• Analysts remain generally positive, with four Buy ratings and three Holds; Vericel has a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $58.40.
• Vericel exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $0.04 in EPS versus a projected loss of $0.03 and revenue of $77.46 million, up 22.5% year over year.

Rice Hall James & Associates LLC acquired a new stake in Vericel Corporation (NASDAQ:VCEL - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 138,840 shares of the biotechnology company's stock, valued at approximately $6,177,000. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC owned about 0.27% of Vericel at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Vericel by 17.7% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,886 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $84,000 after buying an additional 283 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue grew its stake in Vericel by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 25,744 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $927,000 after buying an additional 353 shares during the last quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. raised its holdings in Vericel by 13.7% in the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 2,937 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $125,000 after acquiring an additional 353 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System raised its holdings in Vericel by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 45,404 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $1,932,000 after acquiring an additional 382 shares during the period. Finally, Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lifted its position in Vericel by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 11,698 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $421,000 after acquiring an additional 410 shares during the last quarter.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VCEL has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. HC Wainwright restated a "buy" rating and set a $70.00 price objective on shares of Vericel in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on Vericel from $55.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Weiss Ratings raised Vericel from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Truist Financial reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $58.00 target price (up from $54.00) on shares of Vericel in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group set a $60.00 price target on shares of Vericel in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $58.40.

Vericel Stock Performance

NASDAQ:VCEL opened at $43.59 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $44.19 and a 200-day moving average price of $37.95. The company has a market cap of $2.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 92.75 and a beta of 1.06. Vericel Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $28.95 and a fifty-two week high of $49.32.

Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The biotechnology company reported $0.04 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.03) by $0.07. The company had revenue of $77.46 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $72.70 million. Vericel had a return on equity of 6.91% and a net margin of 7.91%.Vericel's revenue was up 22.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned ($0.01) earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Vericel Corporation will post 0.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Vericel news, insider Sean C. Flynn sold 15,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.64, for a total value of $684,600.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 1,647 shares of the company's stock, valued at $75,169.08. This trade represents a 90.11% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Joseph Anthony Mara, Jr. sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.75, for a total transaction of $223,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 16,009 shares in the company, valued at approximately $716,402.75. This represents a 23.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 52,232 shares of company stock valued at $2,304,217. Corporate insiders own 7.60% of the company's stock.

Vericel Profile

Vericel Corporation is a biotechnology company specializing in the development, manufacturing and commercialization of cell-based therapies for patients with severe diseases and conditions. The company's expertise lies in regenerative medicine, where it harnesses the power of autologous cell processing to create products designed to restore function and promote healing in damaged tissues.

Vericel currently markets two FDA-approved therapies. MACI® (autologous cultured chondrocytes on porcine collagen membrane) is indicated for the repair of symptomatic cartilage defects of the knee in adult patients.

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