Baker Avenue Asset Management LP Sells 14,480 Shares of Vericel Corporation (NASDAQ:VCEL)

Key Points

• Baker Avenue Asset Management LP reduced its holdings in Vericel Corporation by 33.5%, owning 28,744 shares valued at approximately $1.28 million after selling 14,480 shares in the 1st quarter.
• Despite Baker Avenue's sell-off, other investors like US Bancorp DE and Federated Hermes Inc. increased their stakes, with US Bancorp growing its holdings by 29.9%.
• Vericel's recent earnings report showed a 20.1% year-over-year revenue increase, reporting $63.24 million, and it beat EPS estimates by $0.03.

Baker Avenue Asset Management LP reduced its holdings in shares of Vericel Corporation (NASDAQ:VCEL - Free Report) by 33.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 28,744 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 14,480 shares during the quarter. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP owned approximately 0.06% of Vericel worth $1,283,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Vericel by 2.7% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 270,154 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $12,054,000 after acquiring an additional 7,222 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Vericel by 15.6% in the 1st quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 204,510 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $9,125,000 after purchasing an additional 27,526 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Vericel by 34.8% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,895 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $129,000 after purchasing an additional 748 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in Vericel by 26.5% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 571,194 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $31,364,000 after purchasing an additional 119,574 shares during the period. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company MN boosted its stake in Vericel by 11.8% in the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 69,975 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $3,842,000 after purchasing an additional 7,363 shares during the period.

Vericel Price Performance

Shares of VCEL stock traded down $1.11 on Wednesday, hitting $35.71. 226,132 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 497,597. Vericel Corporation has a 12 month low of $33.09 and a 12 month high of $63.00. The stock has a market cap of $1.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 298.23 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a 50 day moving average of $40.66 and a 200 day moving average of $45.19.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on VCEL shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded Vericel from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Canaccord Genuity Group cut their target price on Vericel from $61.00 to $58.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Stephens reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $67.00 target price on shares of Vericel in a research report on Monday, June 16th. Finally, Truist Financial cut their target price on Vericel from $61.00 to $51.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $59.86.

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.