Brown Capital Management LLC Trims Stake in Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL)

Brown Capital Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL - Free Report) by 13.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,826,058 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 590,626 shares during the period. Vericel comprises about 3.5% of Brown Capital Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest holding. Brown Capital Management LLC owned 7.75% of Vericel worth $161,651,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Vericel by 4,126.7% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 634 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 619 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC raised its holdings in shares of Vericel by 319.0% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 662 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 504 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Vericel by 48.1% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,247 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 405 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in Vericel by 22.2% in the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 1,773 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $77,000 after buying an additional 322 shares during the period. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Vericel during the third quarter valued at approximately $92,000.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Steven C. Gilman sold 5,833 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.35, for a total transaction of $235,361.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $443,850. This represents a 34.65 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction of $724,150.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 220,937 shares in the company, valued at $9,142,373.06. This trade represents a 7.34 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 29,166 shares of company stock valued at $1,200,764 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 5.20% of the company's stock.

Vericel Price Performance

NASDAQ VCEL traded down $0.55 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $56.71. 560,324 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 430,939. Vericel Co. has a 52-week low of $32.31 and a 52-week high of $58.49. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $45.61 and a 200 day simple moving average of $46.87. The firm has a market cap of $2.80 billion, a PE ratio of 954.49 and a beta of 1.66.

Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.02) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.05) by $0.03. Vericel had a net margin of 1.56% and a return on equity of 1.48%. The company had revenue of $57.91 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $55.32 million. Sell-side analysts forecast that Vericel Co. will post 0.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on VCEL. TD Cowen raised their price objective on Vericel from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. Canaccord Genuity Group reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $60.00 target price on shares of Vericel in a research note on Tuesday. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $60.00 target price on shares of Vericel in a report on Friday, November 8th. StockNews.com upgraded Vericel from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Stephens upped their target price on Vericel from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Vericel has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $58.14.

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.