BNP Paribas Financial Markets Has $1.14 Million Stock Position in Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL)

BNP Paribas Financial Markets lessened its position in Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL - Free Report) by 35.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 20,699 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 11,202 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets' holdings in Vericel were worth $1,137,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI bought a new stake in shares of Vericel during the 4th quarter worth about $48,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Vericel by 511.1% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,265 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $70,000 after buying an additional 1,058 shares during the period. 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 during the period. 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 during the period. 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 during the period.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently commented on VCEL. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Vericel from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. Stephens reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $67.00 target price on shares of Vericel in a report on Thursday. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their target price on shares of Vericel from $64.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on shares of Vericel from $61.00 to $51.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Finally, HC Wainwright reiterated a "buy" rating and issued 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 given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $61.14.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Dominick Colangelo sold 24,850 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.89, for a total transaction of $1,040,966.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 260,354 shares in the company, valued at $10,906,229.06. This represents a 8.71% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 5.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Vericel Stock Performance

Shares of Vericel stock traded down $0.46 on Friday, reaching $40.92. 300,720 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 408,745. The firm's 50 day moving average is $42.09 and its 200-day moving average is $51.00. Vericel Co. has a one year low of $37.39 and a one year high of $63.00. The firm 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.23) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 in the previous year, the business posted ($0.08) EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Vericel Co. will post 0.14 EPS for the current fiscal 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.