Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL)

Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL - Free Report) by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,075,730 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after buying an additional 34,360 shares during the quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC owned about 4.27% of Vericel worth $87,700,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in Vericel by 9.7% in the second quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,484 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $114,000 after acquiring an additional 220 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Vericel by 22.2% in the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 1,773 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $77,000 after purchasing an additional 322 shares during the last quarter. Swiss National Bank raised its holdings in shares of Vericel by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 89,500 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $4,656,000 after buying an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. PFG Investments LLC boosted its stake in Vericel by 6.2% in the second quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 6,850 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $314,000 after buying an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System raised its stake in Vericel by 3.3% during the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 12,866 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $590,000 after acquiring an additional 406 shares in the last quarter.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, 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 value 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. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, Director Steven C. Gilman sold 5,833 shares of Vericel stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.35, for a total value of $235,361.55. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 11,000 shares in the company, valued at $443,850. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Dominick Colangelo sold 17,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.38, for a total transaction of $724,150.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 220,937 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,142,373.06. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 29,166 shares of company stock worth $1,200,764. 5.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on VCEL. TD Cowen upped their price objective 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. BTIG Research lowered their price target on shares of Vericel from $56.00 to $55.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 15th. Stephens raised their price objective on Vericel from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Vericel from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group started coverage on Vericel in a research report on Friday, August 9th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $57.00 target price for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Vericel presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $57.71.

Vericel Trading Down 0.1 %

NASDAQ:VCEL traded down $0.05 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $43.99. 299,560 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 426,558. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $44.74 and a 200 day simple moving average of $46.34. Vericel Co. has a one year low of $32.28 and a one year high of $54.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4,487,000.00 and a beta of 1.67.

Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The biotechnology company reported ($0.10) EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.10). The company had revenue of $52.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $52.59 million. Vericel had a return on equity of 0.35% and a net margin of 0.37%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 14.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.11) earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Vericel Co. will post 0.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.