Lord Abbett & CO. LLC Has $5.41 Million Holdings in Vericel Corporation $VCEL

Key Points

• Lord Abbett & CO. LLC increased its ownership in Vericel Corporation by 7.5%, now holding approximately 121,278 shares valued at around $5.4 million.
• Vericel reported a revenue increase of 20.1% year-over-year, totaling $63.24 million for the most recent quarter, with earnings per share of ($0.01) exceeding analysts' estimates.
• Analysts have varied ratings for Vericel, with one analyst rating it as a sell and six recommending a buy, resulting in an average consensus price target of $60.33.

Lord Abbett & CO. LLC increased its stake in shares of Vericel Corporation (NASDAQ:VCEL - Free Report) by 7.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 121,278 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after buying an additional 8,488 shares during the quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC owned 0.24% of Vericel worth $5,411,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. bought a new position in shares of Vericel during the 4th quarter worth approximately $57,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Vericel by 34.8% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,895 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $129,000 after purchasing an additional 748 shares during the last quarter. Gagnon Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Vericel in the 1st quarter worth about $137,000. US Bancorp DE grew its holdings in shares of Vericel by 29.9% in the 1st quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 3,071 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $137,000 after purchasing an additional 706 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp bought a new stake in shares of Vericel in the 4th quarter worth about $215,000.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on VCEL shares. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Vericel from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. Stephens reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $67.00 target price on shares of Vericel in a report on Monday, June 16th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their target price on shares of Vericel from $61.00 to $58.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 1st. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $60.33.

Vericel Trading Up 3.9%

NASDAQ VCEL traded up $1.3860 on Friday, hitting $36.8260. 134,536 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 497,723. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $39.07 and a two-hundred day moving average of $43.41. The company has a market cap of $1.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 307.48 and a beta of 1.27. Vericel Corporation has a 1-year low of $33.09 and a 1-year high of $63.00.

Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The biotechnology company reported ($0.01) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.04) by $0.03. The business had revenue of $63.24 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $64.61 million. Vericel had a net margin of 2.85% and a return on equity of 2.47%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 20.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($0.10) EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Vericel Corporation will post 0.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vericel Company 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.