BNP Paribas Financial Markets Cuts Stock Holdings in Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL)

BNP Paribas Financial Markets reduced its stake in shares of Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL - Free Report) by 35.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 20,699 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 11,202 shares during the quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets' holdings in Vericel were worth $1,137,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI purchased a new stake in shares of Vericel during the fourth quarter valued at $48,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Vericel by 511.1% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,265 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $70,000 after purchasing an additional 1,058 shares during the period. Meeder Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Vericel by 8.4% during the fourth quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,357 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $129,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Vericel by 826.6% during the fourth quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,511 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $138,000 after purchasing an additional 2,240 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV boosted its stake in shares of Vericel by 82.5% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,707 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $149,000 after purchasing an additional 1,224 shares during the period.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Dominick Colangelo sold 24,850 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 10th. The shares were 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 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 5.20% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Vericel Stock Performance

Vericel stock traded down $0.46 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $40.92. 300,720 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 409,371. Vericel Co. has a 12 month low of $37.39 and a 12 month high of $63.00. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $41.96 and a two-hundred day moving average of $50.94. The company has a market cap of $2.06 billion, a PE ratio of 682.11 and a beta of 1.31.

Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL - Get Free Report) last released 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 firm had revenue of $52.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $53.86 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted ($0.08) earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Vericel Co. 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.