Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC Sells 6,300 Shares of Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL)

Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC reduced its stake in shares of Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL - Free Report) by 0.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,069,430 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 6,300 shares during the quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC owned 4.19% of Vericel worth $113,632,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Vericel by 4,126.7% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 634 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 619 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its position in Vericel by 48.1% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,247 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 405 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 322 shares during the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Vericel in the third quarter valued at approximately $92,000. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Vericel by 826.6% in the fourth quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,511 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $138,000 after buying an additional 2,240 shares during the period.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vericel

In related news, insider Jonathan Mark Hopper sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.72, for a total transaction of $587,200.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 58,371 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,427,545.12. This represents a 14.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jonathan Siegal sold 3,908 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.99, for a total value of $242,256.92. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,206 shares in the company, valued at $74,759.94. This trade represents a 76.42 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 19,008 shares of company stock worth $1,132,129. Corporate insiders own 7.20% of the company's stock.

Vericel Stock Down 3.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ:VCEL traded down $2.10 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $59.70. 295,259 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 421,511. The firm has a market cap of $2.95 billion, a PE ratio of 995.17 and a beta of 1.72. Vericel Co. has a fifty-two week low of $39.12 and a fifty-two week high of $63.00. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $57.80 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $51.05.

Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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. Vericel had a return on equity of 1.48% and a net margin of 1.56%. The company had revenue of $57.91 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $55.32 million. As a group, analysts forecast that Vericel Co. will post 0.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VCEL has been the topic of several analyst reports. Truist Financial increased their target price on Vericel from $61.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price target on shares of Vericel from $64.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday. BTIG Research boosted their price objective on shares of Vericel from $56.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Stephens reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $65.00 price target on shares of Vericel in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Vericel from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, December 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $63.14.

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.