Trexquant Investment LP Has $1.40 Million Stock Position in Vericel Corporation $VCEL

Key Points

• Trexquant Investment LP has reduced its stake in Vericel Corporation by 64.8%, now holding 31,329 shares worth approximately $1.4 million following the sale of 57,615 shares.
• Vericel reported better-than-expected earnings for the last quarter, with an EPS of ($0.01), surpassing the consensus estimate of ($0.04) while achieving a revenue growth of 20.1% year-over-year.
• Analysts have mixed ratings for Vericel, with Wall Street Zen downgrading it to a "sell," while others maintain a "buy" with an average price target of $60.40.

Trexquant Investment LP lowered its position in Vericel Corporation (NASDAQ:VCEL - Free Report) by 64.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 31,329 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 57,615 shares during the quarter. Trexquant Investment LP owned 0.06% of Vericel worth $1,398,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Next Century Growth Investors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Vericel by 10.8% during the first quarter. Next Century Growth Investors LLC now owns 582,535 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $25,993,000 after purchasing an additional 56,719 shares in the last quarter. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp acquired a new position in shares of Vericel in the first quarter worth about $723,000. Rafferty Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Vericel by 14.4% in the first quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 47,696 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $2,128,000 after buying an additional 6,008 shares during the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vericel during the 1st quarter worth approximately $436,000. Finally, CW Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Vericel by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. CW Advisors LLC now owns 182,866 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $8,159,000 after buying an additional 593 shares in the last quarter.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Vericel Stock Performance

NASDAQ:VCEL traded up $2.22 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $33.53. The stock had a trading volume of 1,839,096 shares, compared to its average volume of 591,475. The stock has a market cap of $1.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 279.44 and a beta of 1.33. Vericel Corporation has a twelve month low of $30.26 and a twelve month high of $63.00. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $36.89 and its 200 day simple moving average is $41.09.

Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The biotechnology company reported ($0.01) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 period last year, the firm earned ($0.10) earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 20.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast 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.