Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL) Holdings Raised by First Washington CORP

First Washington CORP increased its stake in Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL) by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 126,356 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,412 shares during the quarter. Vericel comprises about 2.1% of First Washington CORP’s portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. First Washington CORP owned 0.26% of Vericel worth $5,797,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. MCF Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Vericel by 86.1% during the first quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 482 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 223 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC raised its holdings in shares of Vericel by 319.0% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 662 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 504 shares in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Vericel by 9.7% during the 2nd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,484 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $114,000 after acquiring an additional 220 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Vericel by 178.7% in the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 2,584 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $134,000 after buying an additional 1,657 shares during the period. Finally, RiverPark Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Vericel during the 1st quarter worth approximately $147,000.

Insider Transactions at Vericel

In other news, insider Sean C. Flynn sold 15,000 shares of Vericel stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.18, for a total transaction of $782,700.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 707 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $36,891.26. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Vericel news, insider Sean C. Flynn sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.18, for a total transaction of $782,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 707 shares in the company, valued at approximately $36,891.26. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Dominick Colangelo sold 17,500 shares of Vericel stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.40, for a total value of $899,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 220,937 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,356,161.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 46,291 shares of company stock worth $2,329,169. 5.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Vericel Stock Down 0.9 %

Vericel stock opened at $44.32 on Wednesday. Vericel Co. has a 12-month low of $30.18 and a 12-month high of $54.10. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $48.33 and a 200 day simple moving average of $47.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4,432.00 and a beta of 1.67.

Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The biotechnology company reported ($0.10) earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of ($0.10). Vericel had a return on equity of 0.35% and a net margin of 0.37%. The firm had revenue of $52.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $52.59 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted ($0.11) EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 14.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Vericel Co. will post 0.12 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on VCEL shares. Canaccord Genuity Group assumed coverage on shares of Vericel in a research note on Friday, August 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $57.00 target price for the company. Stephens raised their price objective on shares of Vericel from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. BTIG Research decreased their target price on shares of Vericel from $56.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 15th. Canaccord Genuity Group assumed coverage on shares of Vericel in a report on Friday, August 9th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $57.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price target on Vericel from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $55.75.

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.