Royal Bank of Canada Acquires 55,436 Shares of Vericel Corporation $VCEL

Key Points

• Royal Bank of Canada increased its stake in Vericel Corporation by 6.2% in the first quarter, holding 950,486 shares valued at approximately $42.41 million.
• Vericel's stock is currently trading at $34.05 with a market cap of $1.72 billion, experiencing a quarterly revenue growth of 20.1% year-over-year.
• Various institutional investors also grew their stakes in Vericel, with some notable increases including 34.8% by GAMMA Investing LLC and 15.6% by Envestnet Asset Management Inc.

Royal Bank of Canada grew its stake in Vericel Corporation (NASDAQ:VCEL - Free Report) by 6.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 950,486 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after purchasing an additional 55,436 shares during the quarter. Royal Bank of Canada owned approximately 1.90% of Vericel worth $42,410,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of VCEL. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. purchased a new stake in Vericel in the 4th quarter valued at $57,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Vericel by 34.8% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,895 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $129,000 after purchasing an additional 748 shares during the last quarter. Gagnon Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vericel in the first quarter valued at about $137,000. US Bancorp DE lifted its position in shares of Vericel by 29.9% during the first quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 3,071 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $137,000 after purchasing an additional 706 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp purchased a new position in Vericel during the fourth quarter worth about $215,000.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on VCEL shares. Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their price objective on shares of Vericel from $61.00 to $58.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Stephens reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $67.00 price target on shares of Vericel in a research report on Monday, June 16th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $60.40.

Vericel Price Performance

Shares of Vericel stock traded up $2.22 on Thursday, reaching $33.53. 1,839,096 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 591,475. The company has a 50 day moving average of $36.89 and a 200 day moving average of $41.09. Vericel Corporation has a 52 week low of $30.26 and a 52 week high of $63.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.69 billion, a PE ratio of 279.44 and a beta of 1.33.

Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The biotechnology company reported ($0.01) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.04) by $0.03. Vericel had a net margin of 2.85% and a return on equity of 2.47%. 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 previous year, the firm posted ($0.10) EPS. Vericel's revenue was up 20.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Vericel Corporation will post 0.14 earnings per share for the current year.

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.