Handelsbanken Fonder AB Has $914,000 Holdings in Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its position in shares of Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL) by 24.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 20,479 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,000 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Vericel were worth $914,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in VCEL. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its position in Vericel by 29.3% during the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 12,546 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $560,000 after acquiring an additional 2,840 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Vericel by 34.8% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,895 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $129,000 after purchasing an additional 748 shares in the last quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Vericel by 9.9% during the 1st quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC now owns 6,546 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $292,000 after purchasing an additional 591 shares in the last quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. lifted its stake in shares of Vericel by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 1,476,718 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $65,891,000 after purchasing an additional 22,579 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in Vericel by 119.3% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,288,921 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $70,775,000 after purchasing an additional 701,064 shares in the last quarter.

Vericel Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of NASDAQ VCEL opened at $42.67 on Monday. Vericel Co. has a 12 month low of $37.39 and a 12 month high of $63.00. The company has a market cap of $2.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 711.29 and a beta of 1.33. The business’s 50 day moving average is $41.47 and its two-hundred day moving average is $49.61.

Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.23) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.09) by ($0.14). The company had revenue of $52.60 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $53.86 million. Vericel had a return on equity of 1.48% and a net margin of 1.56%. The company’s revenue was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted ($0.08) EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Vericel Co. will post 0.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Truist Financial reduced their price target on Vericel from $61.00 to $51.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Wall Street Zen lowered Vericel from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $67.00 price target on shares of Vericel in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and issued a $60.00 price objective on shares of Vericel in a research note on Friday, February 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Vericel presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $61.14.

Insider Transactions at Vericel

In other Vericel news, CEO Dominick Colangelo sold 24,850 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.89, for a total value of $1,040,966.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 260,354 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,906,229.06. This trade represents a 8.71% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 5.20% of the company’s stock.

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.