Bank of New York Mellon Corp Lowers Stock Position in Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL)

Bank of New York Mellon Corp reduced its stake in shares of Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL) by 3.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 389,162 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 12,999 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned 0.82% of Vericel worth $11,410,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Duality Advisers LP purchased a new position in shares of Vericel during the 4th quarter valued at about $228,000. Natixis bought a new stake in Vericel during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,695,000. Summit Creek Advisors LLC raised its stake in Vericel by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Summit Creek Advisors LLC now owns 433,547 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $12,712,000 after purchasing an additional 3,567 shares during the period. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC raised its stake in Vericel by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC now owns 112,827 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $3,308,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the period. Finally, Brinker Capital Investments LLC raised its stake in Vericel by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. Brinker Capital Investments LLC now owns 29,715 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $783,000 after purchasing an additional 1,543 shares during the period.

Insider Activity at Vericel

In related news, Director Robert L. Md Zerbe sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.84, for a total transaction of $38,840.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 33,395 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,297,061.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Vericel news, Director Robert L. Md Zerbe sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.00, for a total value of $108,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 34,395 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,238,220. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Robert L. Md Zerbe sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.84, for a total value of $38,840.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 33,395 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,297,061.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 5.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VCEL has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Truist Financial decreased their target price on Vericel from $42.00 to $39.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 3rd. BTIG Research raised Vericel from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $39.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 8th. Stephens lifted their price objective on Vericel from $39.00 to $42.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 11th. HC Wainwright lifted their price objective on Vericel from $37.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com assumed coverage on Vericel in a research note on Thursday, August 17th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $40.25.

Vericel Stock Performance

NASDAQ VCEL opened at $33.88 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $1.61 billion, a P/E ratio of -116.83 and a beta of 1.76. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $35.20 and its 200-day moving average price is $32.77. Vericel Co. has a fifty-two week low of $17.30 and a fifty-two week high of $39.90.

Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 2nd. The biotechnology company reported ($0.11) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.13) by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $45.92 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $42.14 million. Vericel had a negative return on equity of 6.90% and a negative net margin of 7.39%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 24.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($0.19) EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Vericel Co. will post -0.28 EPS for the current 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 the United States. 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; and Epicel, a permanent skin replacement humanitarian use device for the treatment of adult and pediatric patients with deep-dermal or full-thickness burns.