Meeder Asset Management Inc. Purchases 13,808 Shares of Vericel Corporation (NASDAQ:VCEL)

Key Points

• Meeder Asset Management Inc. significantly increased its stake in Vericel Corporation by 585.8% in the 1st quarter, now holding 16,165 shares valued at $721,000.
• Several other investment firms have also raised their positions, with Wellington Management increasing its holdings by 119.3% in the 4th quarter.
• Despite some analysts lowering their price targets, Vericel's stock has seen varied analyst ratings, with seven analysts

Meeder Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Vericel Corporation (NASDAQ:VCEL - Free Report) by 585.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 16,165 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after buying an additional 13,808 shares during the period. Meeder Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Vericel were worth $721,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of VCEL. Captrust Financial Advisors raised its stake in shares of Vericel by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 6,111 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $336,000 after buying an additional 199 shares in the last quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Vericel by 8.6% during the 4th quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 5,137 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $282,000 after purchasing an additional 405 shares in the last quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC increased its position in shares of Vericel by 9.9% during the 1st quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC now owns 6,546 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $292,000 after purchasing an additional 591 shares in the last quarter. Mariner LLC increased its position in shares of Vericel by 7.7% during the 4th quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 9,209 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $506,000 after purchasing an additional 659 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Vericel by 34.8% during 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 in the last quarter.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Vericel from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. Truist Financial reduced their target price on shares of Vericel from $61.00 to $51.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $67.00 target price on shares of Vericel in a research note on Monday, June 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $61.14.

Vericel Stock Up 2.0%

Shares of VCEL stock traded up $0.69 during trading on Friday, reaching $35.63. The company's stock had a trading volume of 962,793 shares, compared to its average volume of 498,353. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $40.93 and a 200-day moving average price of $45.72. The company has a market cap of $1.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 1,188.06 and a beta of 1.32. Vericel Corporation has a one year low of $33.09 and a one year high of $63.00.

Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The biotechnology company reported ($0.01) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 1.25% and a return on equity of 1.09%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 20.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned ($0.10) earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Vericel Corporation will post 0.14 EPS for the current 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.