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

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Congress Asset Management Co. lifted its stake in shares of Vericel by 1.6% during the first quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 1,476,718 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $65,891,000 after buying an additional 22,579 shares during the period. GW&K Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Vericel by 12.4% during the first quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC now owns 1,432,434 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $63,915,000 after purchasing an additional 158,470 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of Vericel by 119.3% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,288,921 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $70,775,000 after purchasing an additional 701,064 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Vericel by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,166,115 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $64,046,000 after purchasing an additional 12,062 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Vericel by 25.4% during the fourth quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 1,122,373 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $61,630,000 after purchasing an additional 227,675 shares during the last quarter.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Vericel from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Truist Financial dropped their price target on shares of Vericel from $61.00 to $51.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their price target on shares of Vericel from $61.00 to $58.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Finally, Stephens restated an "overweight" rating and set a $67.00 price target on shares of Vericel in a research report on Monday, June 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Vericel currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $59.86.

Vericel Price Performance

Shares of Vericel stock traded up $0.69 on Friday, reaching $35.63. 962,793 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 600,352. Vericel Corporation has a 1-year low of $33.09 and a 1-year high of $63.00. The company has a market cap of $1.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 296.94 and a beta of 1.32. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $40.83 and its 200-day moving average price is $45.56.

Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The biotechnology company reported ($0.01) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.04) by $0.03. The company had revenue of $63.24 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $64.61 million. Vericel had a return on equity of 2.47% and a net margin of 2.85%. The firm's revenue was up 20.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($0.10) earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Vericel Corporation will post 0.14 earnings per share 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.