18,200 Shares in Vericel Corporation $VCEL Purchased by Strs Ohio

Strs Ohio purchased a new position in shares of Vericel Corporation (NASDAQ:VCEL) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 18,200 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock, valued at approximately $812,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. bought a new stake in Vericel during the fourth quarter worth about $57,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Vericel by 34.8% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,895 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $129,000 after purchasing an additional 748 shares during the last quarter. Gagnon Securities LLC bought a new stake in Vericel during the first quarter worth about $137,000. US Bancorp DE lifted its stake in shares of Vericel by 29.9% in the 1st quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 3,071 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $137,000 after acquiring an additional 706 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp bought a new stake in shares of Vericel in the 4th quarter valued at about $215,000.

Vericel Stock Performance

Shares of Vericel stock opened at $31.68 on Friday. Vericel Corporation has a one year low of $29.93 and a one year high of $63.00. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $35.81 and its 200 day moving average is $40.29. The stock has a market cap of $1.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 264.02 and a beta of 1.33.

Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The biotechnology company reported ($0.01) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.04) by $0.03. Vericel had a return on equity of 2.47% and a net margin of 2.85%.The company had revenue of $63.24 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $64.61 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($0.10) EPS. Vericel’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Vericel Corporation will post 0.14 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on VCEL shares. BTIG Research lowered Vericel from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their target price on Vericel from $61.00 to $58.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $67.00 target price on shares of Vericel in a research note on Monday, June 16th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Vericel has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $60.40.

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.