Victory Capital Management Inc. Buys 12,481 Shares of Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL)

Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL - Free Report) by 2.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 623,627 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after acquiring an additional 12,481 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned approximately 1.27% of Vericel worth $26,348,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in VCEL. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Vericel by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,413,442 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $177,567,000 after purchasing an additional 39,349 shares in the last quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Vericel by 1.7% in the third quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,075,730 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $87,700,000 after buying an additional 34,360 shares in the last quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. raised its holdings in shares of Vericel by 37.4% in the third quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 1,291,720 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $54,575,000 after buying an additional 351,550 shares during the last quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. lifted its position in Vericel by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 1,031,940 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $47,346,000 after buying an additional 10,245 shares in the last quarter. Finally, William Blair Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Vericel by 7.9% during the 2nd quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 908,141 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $41,666,000 after acquiring an additional 66,464 shares during the last quarter.

Vericel Stock Performance

NASDAQ:VCEL traded up $0.41 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $52.89. The company had a trading volume of 387,992 shares, compared to its average volume of 431,166. The business's fifty day moving average is $44.92 and its two-hundred day moving average is $46.70. Vericel Co. has a fifty-two week low of $32.31 and a fifty-two week high of $57.81. The firm has a market cap of $2.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 874.81 and a beta of 1.66.

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 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $55.32 million. Equities analysts forecast that Vericel Co. will post 0.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on VCEL shares. Canaccord Genuity Group started coverage on shares of Vericel in a research note on Friday, August 9th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $57.00 target price for the company. Stephens upped their price objective on Vericel from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Canaccord Genuity Group started coverage on Vericel in a research note on Friday, August 9th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $57.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com raised Vericel from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Vericel from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Vericel presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $57.71.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Dominick Colangelo sold 17,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 220,937 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,142,373.06. This represents a 7.34 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Steven C. Gilman sold 5,833 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.36, for a total value of $241,252.88. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 11,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $454,960. This trade represents a 34.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 29,166 shares of company stock worth $1,200,764 over the last ninety days. 5.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.