Vericel Corporation $VCEL Holdings Decreased by CenterBook Partners LP

CenterBook Partners LP reduced its stake in shares of Vericel Corporation (NASDAQ:VCEL) by 44.7% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 102,243 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 82,743 shares during the period. CenterBook Partners LP’s holdings in Vericel were worth $3,682,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of Vericel by 24.9% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 336,008 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $12,100,000 after purchasing an additional 67,025 shares in the last quarter. Global Alpha Capital Management Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Vericel by 44.9% during the fourth quarter. Global Alpha Capital Management Ltd. now owns 50,058 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,803,000 after purchasing an additional 15,500 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Vericel by 133.6% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 497,167 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $17,903,000 after purchasing an additional 284,305 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Vericel by 32.5% during the fourth quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 39,488 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,422,000 after purchasing an additional 9,691 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its position in Vericel by 48.2% in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 3,019 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $109,000 after acquiring an additional 982 shares in the last quarter.

Vericel Price Performance

NASDAQ:VCEL opened at $35.77 on Tuesday. Vericel Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $28.95 and a fifty-two week high of $45.97. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $34.27 and its two-hundred day moving average is $35.70. The stock has a market cap of $1.83 billion, a PE ratio of 85.17 and a beta of 1.12.

Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.12) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.15) by $0.03. Vericel had a return on equity of 6.41% and a net margin of 7.35%.The company had revenue of $68.43 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $63.68 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted ($0.23) EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 30.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Vericel Corporation will post 0.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Vericel news, insider Jonathan Mark Hopper sold 3,472 shares of Vericel stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.00, for a total transaction of $121,520.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 75,556 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,644,460. The trade was a 4.39% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 7.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Vericel from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a research report on Monday, June 1st. Truist Financial dropped their price target on shares of Vericel from $48.00 to $42.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Vericel from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday. Leerink Partners reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $46.00 price target on shares of Vericel in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. Finally, HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $64.00 price target on shares of Vericel in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $55.40.

About Vericel

Vericel Corporation is a biotechnology company specializing in the development, manufacturing and commercialization of cell-based therapies for patients with severe diseases and conditions. The company’s expertise lies in regenerative medicine, where it harnesses the power of autologous cell processing to create products designed to restore function and promote healing in damaged tissues.

Vericel currently markets two FDA-approved therapies. MACI® (autologous cultured chondrocytes on porcine collagen membrane) is indicated for the repair of symptomatic cartilage defects of the knee in adult patients.