Summit Creek Advisors LLC Purchases Shares of 219,312 Vericel Corporation $VCEL

Key Points

• Summit Creek Advisors acquired 219,312 shares of Vericel, worth approximately $9.8 million, making the biotechnology company its second-largest holding and representing about 0.43% of Vericel.
• Institutional interest increased broadly, with BlackRock and TimesSquare Capital initiating positions while State Street, GW&K, and Goldman Sachs expanded their holdings.
• Vericel reported quarterly revenue of $77.46 million and EPS of $0.04, exceeding analyst estimates. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $58.40 versus a share price of $44.26.

Summit Creek Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vericel Corporation (NASDAQ:VCEL - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 219,312 shares of the biotechnology company's stock, valued at approximately $9,757,000. Vericel comprises about 3.3% of Summit Creek Advisors LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. Summit Creek Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.43% of Vericel as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in Vericel during the second quarter valued at approximately $360,023,000. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Vericel in the second quarter worth approximately $24,463,000. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Vericel by 12.7% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,163,922 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $113,933,000 after acquiring an additional 356,680 shares during the last quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Vericel by 22.5% during the 4th quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC now owns 1,580,967 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $56,931,000 after acquiring an additional 290,795 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Vericel by 133.6% during the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 497,167 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $17,903,000 after acquiring an additional 284,305 shares during the period.

Vericel Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VCEL opened at $44.26 on Wednesday. Vericel Corporation has a 1-year low of $28.95 and a 1-year high of $49.32. The business's 50 day moving average is $44.33 and its two-hundred day moving average is $38.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 94.17 and a beta of 1.06.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Joseph Anthony Mara, Jr. sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.75, for a total transaction of $223,750.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 16,009 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $716,402.75. This represents a 23.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jonathan Mark Hopper sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.00, for a total value of $450,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 75,753 shares in the company, valued at $3,408,885. This represents a 11.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 52,232 shares of company stock worth $2,304,217 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 7.60% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on VCEL. Wall Street Zen raised Vericel from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, July 18th. Truist Financial reissued a "buy" rating and set a $58.00 price target (up from $54.00) on shares of Vericel in a report on Friday, July 31st. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $70.00 price objective on shares of Vericel in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Vericel from $55.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group set a $60.00 price objective on Vericel in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $58.40.

About Vericel

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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