Premier Fund Managers Ltd Acquires Shares of 18,088 Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL)

Premier Fund Managers Ltd purchased a new position in Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL - Free Report) during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 18,088 shares of the biotechnology company's stock, valued at approximately $781,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Geneva Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Vericel by 61.4% during the 3rd quarter. Geneva Capital Management LLC now owns 1,104,386 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $46,660,000 after acquiring an additional 420,078 shares during the period. Congress Asset Management Co. raised its holdings in Vericel by 37.4% in the third quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 1,291,720 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $54,575,000 after purchasing an additional 351,550 shares in the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its position in Vericel by 34.9% during the second quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 840,787 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $38,575,000 after buying an additional 217,437 shares during the period. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Vericel by 54.8% during the 3rd quarter. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC now owns 590,145 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $24,934,000 after buying an additional 209,009 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Vericel by 51.5% in the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 611,146 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $28,039,000 after buying an additional 207,714 shares during the period.

Insider Activity at Vericel

In other news, Director Steven C. Gilman sold 5,833 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.36, for a total value of $241,252.88. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,000 shares in the company, valued at $454,960. The trade was a 34.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Dominick Colangelo sold 17,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.38, for a total value of $724,150.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 220,937 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,142,373.06. This represents a 7.34 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 29,166 shares of company stock worth $1,200,764. Corporate insiders own 7.20% of the company's stock.

Vericel Trading Up 1.5 %

VCEL stock traded up $0.82 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $56.65. The stock had a trading volume of 129,121 shares, compared to its average volume of 429,425. Vericel Co. has a 52 week low of $32.31 and a 52 week high of $57.81. The firm has a market cap of $2.80 billion, a PE ratio of 930.66 and a beta of 1.66. The stock's 50 day moving average is $45.34 and its two-hundred day moving average is $46.80.

Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.02) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.05) by $0.03. The business had revenue of $57.91 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $55.32 million. Vericel had a net margin of 1.56% and a return on equity of 1.48%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Vericel Co. will post 0.13 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on VCEL. HC Wainwright restated a "buy" rating and issued a $60.00 price objective on shares of Vericel in a report on Friday, November 8th. Stephens increased their target price on Vericel from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Canaccord Genuity Group started coverage on shares of Vericel in a research note on Friday, August 9th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $57.00 price target on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $60.00 target price on shares of Vericel in a report on Tuesday. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Vericel from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $58.14.

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.