Russell Investments Group Ltd. Boosts Stock Position in Vericel Corporation $VCEL

Key Points

• Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its ownership in Vericel Corporation by 58.3% during the first quarter, adding 31,635 shares to hold a total of 85,880 shares worth approximately $3.83 million.
• Vericel's recent earnings report indicated a net margin of 2.85% with a revenue increase of 20.1% year-over-year, despite missing analysts' expectations by $1.37 million.
• Equities analysts have mixed recommendations on Vericel, with some cutting ratings and price targets, while others maintain a consensus Buy rating with an average target price of $60.33.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Vericel Corporation (NASDAQ:VCEL - Free Report) by 58.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 85,880 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after acquiring an additional 31,635 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned 0.17% of Vericel worth $3,832,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of VCEL. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Vericel by 119.3% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,288,921 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $70,775,000 after acquiring an additional 701,064 shares in the last quarter. Geneva Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Vericel by 24.2% during the first quarter. Geneva Capital Management LLC now owns 1,365,744 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $60,939,000 after purchasing an additional 265,956 shares in the last quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Vericel by 12.4% during the first quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC now owns 1,432,434 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $63,915,000 after purchasing an additional 158,470 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in Vericel in the first quarter valued at about $5,751,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Vericel by 5,916.5% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 129,175 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $5,764,000 after purchasing an additional 127,028 shares in the last quarter.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on VCEL. Stephens reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $67.00 target price on shares of Vericel in a research note on Monday, June 16th. Wall Street Zen lowered Vericel from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group cut their price objective on Vericel from $61.00 to $58.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $60.33.

Vericel Trading Down 3.3%

Shares of NASDAQ:VCEL traded down $1.24 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $35.79. 369,153 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 625,231. The stock has a market cap of $1.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 298.27 and a beta of 1.27. Vericel Corporation has a twelve month low of $33.09 and a twelve month high of $63.00. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $38.84 and a 200-day moving average price of $42.85.

Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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. The business had revenue of $63.24 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $64.61 million. Vericel had a return on equity of 2.47% and a net margin of 2.85%.The business's revenue was up 20.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($0.10) EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect 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.