Avantax Advisory Services Inc. Acquires 2,112 Shares of Vericel Corporation (NASDAQ:VCEL)

Avantax Advisory Services Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Vericel Corporation (NASDAQ:VCEL) by 15.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 15,915 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,112 shares during the quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Vericel were worth $710,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Legato Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Vericel by 16.7% during the first quarter. Legato Capital Management LLC now owns 6,675 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $298,000 after buying an additional 955 shares during the last quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new position in Vericel in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $1,965,000. GW&K Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Vericel by 12.4% in the 1st quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC now owns 1,432,434 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $63,915,000 after acquiring an additional 158,470 shares during the period. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky lifted its position in shares of Vericel by 14.5% in the 1st quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 35,689 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,592,000 after acquiring an additional 4,509 shares during the period. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Vericel by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 593,933 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $26,501,000 after purchasing an additional 15,221 shares in the last quarter.

Vericel Price Performance

Vericel stock opened at $37.58 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 313.19 and a beta of 1.27. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $40.76 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $45.25. Vericel Corporation has a 52-week low of $33.09 and a 52-week high of $63.00.

Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The biotechnology company reported ($0.01) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.04) by $0.03. Vericel had a net margin of 2.85% and a return on equity of 2.47%. The business had revenue of $63.24 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $64.61 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.10) EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 20.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Vericel Corporation will post 0.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Wall Street Zen lowered Vericel from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Truist Financial lowered their price target on shares of Vericel from $61.00 to $51.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $67.00 price objective on shares of Vericel in a report on Monday, June 16th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their target price on shares of Vericel from $61.00 to $58.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $59.86.

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.