Castleark Management LLC Sells 64,040 Shares of Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL)

Castleark Management LLC cut its holdings in Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL - Free Report) by 45.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 78,020 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 64,040 shares during the period. Castleark Management LLC owned approximately 0.16% of Vericel worth $3,296,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of VCEL. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Vericel by 4,126.7% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 634 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 619 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC boosted its stake 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 period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its position in Vericel by 48.1% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,247 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $53,000 after buying an additional 405 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Vericel by 22.2% during the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 1,773 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $77,000 after acquiring an additional 322 shares during the period. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Vericel during the 3rd quarter worth $92,000.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VCEL has been the topic of several analyst reports. Stephens raised Vericel to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, December 2nd. BTIG Research raised their target price on shares of Vericel from $56.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. HC Wainwright restated a "buy" rating and issued a $60.00 target price on shares of Vericel in a research report on Friday, November 8th. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Vericel from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group restated a "buy" rating and set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Vericel in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $59.71.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Dominick Colangelo sold 17,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Paul K. Wotton sold 2,600 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.72, for a total transaction of $152,672.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 27,402 shares in the company, valued at $1,609,045.44. The trade was a 8.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 44,266 shares of company stock valued at $2,090,636. 5.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Vericel Price Performance

VCEL stock traded down $0.15 during trading on Friday, reaching $56.37. 374,560 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 429,261. Vericel Co. has a twelve month low of $32.31 and a twelve month high of $61.49. The company has a market capitalization of $2.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 939.50 and a beta of 1.71. The company has a 50-day moving average of $48.66 and a two-hundred day moving average of $47.61.

Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.02) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $55.32 million. On average, analysts forecast that Vericel Co. will post 0.13 EPS for the current year.

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.