D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. Increases Holdings in Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL)

D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. boosted its stake in Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL - Free Report) by 227.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 75,470 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after acquiring an additional 52,453 shares during the period. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. owned 0.15% of Vericel worth $4,144,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI bought a new stake in Vericel in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Vericel by 511.1% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,265 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $70,000 after acquiring an additional 1,058 shares during the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Vericel by 8.4% during the 4th quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,357 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $129,000 after buying an additional 183 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Vericel by 826.6% during the 4th quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,511 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $138,000 after buying an additional 2,240 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 1,224 shares in the last quarter.

Vericel Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VCEL traded down $0.46 during trading on Friday, reaching $40.92. 300,720 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 408,745. Vericel Co. has a 1-year low of $37.39 and a 1-year high of $63.00. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $42.09 and a two-hundred day moving average of $51.00. The firm has a market cap of $2.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 682.11 and a beta of 1.31.

Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL - Get Free Report) last issued its 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 return on equity of 1.48% and a net margin of 1.56%. The firm had revenue of $52.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $53.86 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned ($0.08) earnings per share. Vericel's revenue for the quarter was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Vericel Co. will post 0.14 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vericel

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on VCEL shares. Stephens restated an "overweight" rating and set a $67.00 price target on shares of Vericel in a report on Thursday. Truist Financial cut their price target on Vericel from $61.00 to $51.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. HC Wainwright restated a "buy" rating and set a $60.00 price target on shares of Vericel in a report on Friday, February 28th. Wall Street Zen cut Vericel from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price target on Vericel from $64.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Vericel currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus 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.