Eagle Asset Management Inc. Has $9.02 Million Position in Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL)

Eagle Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL - Free Report) by 31.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 213,486 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after acquiring an additional 50,824 shares during the quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. owned approximately 0.43% of Vericel worth $9,020,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Vericel by 9.7% during the 2nd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,484 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $114,000 after acquiring an additional 220 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Vericel by 22.2% during the third 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 period. PFG Investments LLC lifted its holdings in Vericel by 6.2% during the 2nd quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 6,850 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $314,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 405 shares during the period. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System grew its holdings in Vericel by 3.3% in the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 12,866 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $590,000 after buying an additional 406 shares in the last quarter.

Vericel Stock Up 4.2 %

Shares of VCEL stock traded up $2.40 on Friday, reaching $59.11. The company had a trading volume of 603,449 shares, compared to its average volume of 461,718. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.92 billion, a PE ratio of 985.33 and a beta of 1.66. The business's 50-day moving average is $46.13 and its 200 day moving average is $47.00. Vericel Co. has a one year low of $32.31 and a one year high of $60.15.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Vericel

In other Vericel news, Director Steven C. Gilman sold 5,833 shares of Vericel stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.35, for a total transaction of $235,361.55. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $443,850. The trade was a 34.65 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Dominick Colangelo sold 17,500 shares of the firm's 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 220,937 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,142,373.06. This trade represents a 7.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, 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

Several equities analysts recently commented on VCEL shares. Canaccord Genuity Group restated a "buy" rating and issued a $60.00 price target on shares of Vericel in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. StockNews.com upgraded Vericel from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Canaccord Genuity Group assumed coverage on Vericel in a research note on Friday, August 9th. They set a "buy" rating and a $57.00 price objective on the stock. Stephens upped their target price on Vericel from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price target on Vericel from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target 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.