Wellington Management Group LLP Grows Stock Position in Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL)

Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL - Free Report) by 214.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 587,857 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after buying an additional 400,667 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP owned approximately 1.19% of Vericel worth $24,837,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in VCEL. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Vericel by 4,126.7% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 634 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 619 shares during the period. CWM LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Vericel by 319.0% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 662 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 504 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted 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 valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 405 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in 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 worth $77,000 after buying an additional 322 shares during the period. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in Vericel during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $92,000.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on VCEL. Stephens raised shares of Vericel to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, December 2nd. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Vericel from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. 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. HC Wainwright reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $60.00 price objective on shares of Vericel in a report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, BTIG Research raised their target price on Vericel from $56.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong 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 $59.71.

Vericel Stock Performance

Shares of Vericel stock traded up $0.46 on Friday, hitting $57.47. The company's stock had a trading volume of 326,531 shares, compared to its average volume of 426,312. The company has a market capitalization of $2.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 957.99 and a beta of 1.71. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $50.23 and a 200-day moving average price of $47.94. Vericel Co. has a 1 year low of $32.31 and a 1 year high of $61.49.

Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $57.91 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $55.32 million. As a group, analysts forecast that Vericel Co. will post 0.13 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Vericel news, insider Jonathan Mark Hopper sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.72, for a total value of $587,200.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 58,371 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,427,545.12. This trade represents a 14.63 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Steven C. Gilman sold 5,833 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.35, for a total transaction of $235,361.55. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 11,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $443,850. The trade was a 34.65 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 44,266 shares of company stock worth $2,090,636. Company insiders own 5.20% of the company's stock.

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.