Congress Asset Management Co. Grows Position in Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL)

Congress Asset Management Co. grew its position in shares of Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL) by 37.4% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 1,291,720 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 351,550 shares during the quarter. Congress Asset Management Co.’s holdings in Vericel were worth $54,575,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Vericel by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,374,093 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $120,151,000 after purchasing an additional 48,514 shares in the last quarter. Norden Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vericel in the 1st quarter worth approximately $244,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Vericel by 7.1% in the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 27,960 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,454,000 after acquiring an additional 1,845 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in shares of Vericel by 99.7% during the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 111,760 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $5,814,000 after acquiring an additional 55,796 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FORA Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vericel during the first quarter valued at approximately $590,000.

Insider Activity at Vericel

In other Vericel news, CEO Dominick Colangelo sold 17,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.38, for a total value of $724,150.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 220,937 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,142,373.06. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Vericel news, Director Steven C. Gilman sold 5,833 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.35, for a total value of $235,361.55. Following the sale, the director now owns 11,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $443,850. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Dominick Colangelo sold 17,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.38, for a total transaction of $724,150.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 220,937 shares in the company, valued at $9,142,373.06. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 29,166 shares of company stock valued at $1,200,764. Insiders own 5.20% of the company’s stock.

Vericel Trading Down 1.7 %

Shares of VCEL traded down $0.76 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $44.78. 20,310 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 426,050. Vericel Co. has a 1 year low of $32.28 and a 1 year high of $54.10. The company has a market cap of $2.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4,554.00 and a beta of 1.67. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $44.81 and a 200 day moving average price of $46.35.

Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The biotechnology company reported ($0.10) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates 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 the consensus estimate of $52.59 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted ($0.11) EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Vericel Co. will post 0.12 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. StockNews.com downgraded Vericel from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. HC Wainwright increased their price target on shares of Vericel from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Canaccord Genuity Group started coverage on shares of Vericel in a report on Friday, August 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $57.00 price objective for the company. Stephens boosted their target price on shares of Vericel from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, BTIG Research decreased their target price on Vericel from $56.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Vericel presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $57.71.

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.