Soleus Capital Management L.P. Acquires Shares of 80,696 Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL)

Soleus Capital Management L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 80,696 shares of the biotechnology company's stock, valued at approximately $4,431,000. Soleus Capital Management L.P. owned about 0.16% of Vericel as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System boosted its position in Vericel by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 23,900 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $1,312,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC acquired a new position in Vericel during the 4th quarter worth approximately $280,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in Vericel during the 4th quarter worth approximately $956,000. Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new position in Vericel during the 4th quarter worth approximately $261,000. Finally, KBC Group NV boosted its position in Vericel by 82.5% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,707 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $149,000 after acquiring an additional 1,224 shares during the last quarter.

Vericel Trading Down 1.1%

Shares of Vericel stock traded down $0.46 on Friday, reaching $40.92. 300,720 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 408,745. Vericel Co. has a one year low of $37.39 and a one year high of $63.00. The company has a market capitalization of $2.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 682.11 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a 50-day moving average of $42.09 and a 200 day moving average of $51.00.

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

Insider Activity at Vericel

In related news, CEO Dominick Colangelo sold 24,850 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.89, for a total value of $1,040,966.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 260,354 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,906,229.06. This represents a 8.71% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 5.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Truist Financial reduced their price target on Vericel from $61.00 to $51.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Wall Street Zen cut Vericel from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price objective on Vericel from $64.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Stephens reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $67.00 price objective on shares of Vericel in a research note on Thursday. Finally, HC Wainwright reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Vericel in a research note on Friday, February 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $61.14.

Vericel 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.