Townsquare Capital LLC Acquires 16,385 Shares of Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL)

Townsquare Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL - Free Report) by 47.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 50,861 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after acquiring an additional 16,385 shares during the quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC owned approximately 0.10% of Vericel worth $2,149,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Vericel by 9.7% in the 2nd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,484 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $114,000 after buying an additional 220 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 322 shares during the period. PFG Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 400 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Vericel by 48.1% in the third 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System raised its stake in shares of Vericel by 3.3% in the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 12,866 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $590,000 after purchasing an additional 406 shares in the last quarter.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VCEL has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Canaccord Genuity Group reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Vericel in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. BTIG Research lifted their target price on Vericel from $56.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. StockNews.com upgraded Vericel from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Vericel from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group started coverage on Vericel in a report on Friday, August 9th. They set a "buy" rating and a $57.00 price target for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $59.71.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vericel

In other news, Director Robert L. Md Zerbe sold 2,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.00, for a total transaction of $150,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 26,595 shares in the company, valued at $1,595,700. This trade represents a 8.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Steven C. Gilman sold 5,833 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.35, for a total value of $235,361.55. Following the transaction, the director now 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 31,666 shares of company stock worth $1,350,764. Insiders own 5.20% of the company's stock.

Vericel Price Performance

NASDAQ:VCEL traded up $0.38 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $58.14. 228,721 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 457,712. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $47.35 and a 200-day moving average price of $47.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 969.16 and a beta of 1.66. Vericel Co. has a 12-month low of $32.31 and a 12-month high of $61.49.

Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.02) earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $57.91 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $55.32 million. As a group, 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.