ExodusPoint Capital Management LP Acquires 27,923 Shares of Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL)

ExodusPoint Capital Management LP lifted its holdings in Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL) by 191.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 42,546 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after buying an additional 27,923 shares during the quarter. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP owned about 0.09% of Vericel worth $1,247,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI acquired a new position in Vericel during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in Vericel during the 1st quarter valued at about $41,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its position in Vericel by 174.3% during the 1st quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,668 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 1,060 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE lifted its position in Vericel by 31.6% during the 1st quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 2,273 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $67,000 after purchasing an additional 546 shares during the period. Finally, Point72 Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new position in Vericel during the 2nd quarter valued at about $73,000.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Robert L. Md Zerbe sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the director now directly owns 33,395 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,297,061.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, Director Robert L. Md Zerbe sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.00, for a total transaction of $108,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 34,395 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,238,220. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert L. Md Zerbe sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director now directly 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.

Vericel Stock Performance

NASDAQ VCEL opened at $33.88 on Monday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $35.20 and a 200 day simple moving average of $32.82. Vericel Co. has a 52-week low of $17.30 and a 52-week high of $39.90. The stock has a market cap of $1.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -116.83 and a beta of 1.76.

Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 2nd. The biotechnology company reported ($0.11) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.13) by $0.02. Vericel had a negative return on equity of 6.90% and a negative net margin of 7.39%. The business had revenue of $45.92 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $42.14 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned ($0.19) EPS. Vericel’s revenue for the quarter was up 24.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, 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.