Sentry Investment Management LLC Makes New Investment in Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL)

Sentry Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 3,824 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock, valued at approximately $136,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale acquired a new stake in shares of Vericel in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its stake in Vericel by 174.3% during the 1st quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,668 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 1,060 shares during the period. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new position in Vericel during the 2nd quarter worth $73,000. State of Wyoming increased its stake in Vericel by 23.8% in the fourth quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 3,025 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $80,000 after purchasing an additional 581 shares during the period. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors raised its holdings in shares of Vericel by 50.8% in the second quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 3,486 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $88,000 after buying an additional 1,175 shares during the last quarter.

Insider Activity at Vericel

In other Vericel news, SVP Sean C. Flynn sold 8,115 shares of Vericel stock in a transaction on Friday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.33, for a total value of $367,852.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 167 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,570.11. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Dominick Colangelo sold 17,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.67, for a total value of $781,725.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 194,870 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,704,842.90. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Sean C. Flynn sold 8,115 shares of Vericel stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.33, for a total transaction of $367,852.95. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 167 shares in the company, valued at $7,570.11. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 47,267 shares of company stock valued at $2,115,981. Corporate insiders own 7.20% of the company’s stock.

Vericel Trading Down 2.7 %

Shares of VCEL stock opened at $46.26 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $47.68 and a 200-day simple moving average of $40.27. The company has a market capitalization of $2.24 billion, a PE ratio of -513.94 and a beta of 1.71. Vericel Co. has a twelve month low of $29.24 and a twelve month high of $53.05.

Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 29th. The biotechnology company reported $0.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.18 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $65.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $64.28 million. Vericel had a negative net margin of 1.61% and a negative return on equity of 1.55%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.12 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Vericel Co. will post 0.09 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on VCEL shares. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $54.00 price target on shares of Vericel in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. HC Wainwright lifted their target price on Vericel from $46.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 1st. Finally, TheStreet upgraded Vericel from a “d+” rating to a “c-” rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Vericel presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $46.40.

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.